She might be one of Team USA's star athletes - but Katie Ledecky still had to wait for 15 years to join her local swimming club in Maryland because it is so exclusive.

While her family were on the waiting list for Little Falls Swimming Club in Bethesda, Ledecky won a gold at the 2012 Olympics in London.

But because of the club's strict admission rules - which caps the membership to 377 families based on their proximity to the site - she had to wait like everyone else.

People have been known to buy a house nearby because this will give them an advantage in the competitive admissions process, reports the Wall Street Journal. 

The newspaper said that the Ledeckys rose to the top of the list in April this year - shortly before Katie won four medals at the Rio Olympics - but opted to defer.

The club, where annual membership from 2017 will cost $700, is starting a renovation in September, which is expected to cost nearly $2million.

A report published on its website in August last year explained that the pool needed repairs as it was 65 years old. 

'Much credit should be given to previous board members who have maintained the pool really well and stayed on top of repairs,' the note said.

'But even with a history of great maintenance and proactive repairs, the current pool is coming to the end of its well-loved life.' 

Ledecky recently passed up on a estimated $5million in endorsements to remain an amateur and swim for Stanford University.  

'I've always wanted to swim collegiately and have that experience,' Ledecky, 19, told ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike.

Her haul at Rio could have made her a millionaire if she left the amateur ranks, one expert told the show.

She was treated to a hero's welcome after returning from Rio. 

When she arrived at Washington Dulles Airport she was immediately enclosed by some 10 friends who ran to meet her, screaming in excitement.

She was draped in her medals — four gold and one silver — arranged side-by-side as veteran Michael Phelps taught her.

'They are heavy — a little more than the one I won four years ago,' she said, mentioning her one gold at the London 2012 Olympics.

Phelps 'taught me how to arrange them,' Ledecky added. 'He put them on perfectly.'

After returning home, Ledecky said she was looking forward to a home-cooked meal and sleeping in her own bed.

'I'll be just taking a break from swimming and getting ready for school,' said Ledecky said, who starts college in September.

 'I head out to Stanford in a couple of weeks so I need to get ready for that.'