Katie Ledecky is the first swimmer to win a gold medal at four different Olympic Games. On Wednesday night, she achieved another impressive performance in the women’s 1500m freestyle.
The 27-year-old American, widely regarded as the best female long-distance swimmer of all time, touched first in 15 minutes, 30.02 seconds, an Olympic record, before a jubilant crowd on the outskirts of Paris. France’s Anastasiya Kirpichnikova took silver (15:40.35), while Germany’s Isabel Gose took third (15:41.16). The only other swimmer to break the 16-minute mark was Italy’s Simona Quadarella (15:44.05), who faded in a hard-fought duel for bronze.
“I had a good time,” Ledecky said afterward. “I felt really good. I just tried to stay steady the whole time. Keep my stroke, keep my time, every 50 [meters] and a time swimming that I could really be happy with. I am really proud of that swim.”
The question going into the race wasn’t whether Ledecky would win—the Maryland native is undefeated at this distance in her professional career—but by how much. She had won her preliminary heat on Tuesday by more than half a lap over Italy’s Simona Quadarella, following an even more stunning performance at last month’s U.S. Trials, where she won by 20 seconds over her nearest rival.
Her eighth career Olympic title ties American Jenny Thompson for the most gold medals in women’s swimming. Ledecky has another shot at a medal this weekend in the 800m freestyle. Wednesday’s gold was also her 12th Olympic medal of any color, making her tied with Thompson, Dara Torres and Natalie Coughlin for the most medals ever won by a female swimmer from any country.
Ledecky has broken the world record for this distance six times, giving her the 20th fastest time in history. Her best time is more than 18 seconds better than the next fastest woman, Lotte Friis of Denmark. Overall, she has broken the previous record, set by American Kate Ziegler in 2007, by more than 22 seconds.
Ledecky’s all-time medal haul would have been even higher had the women’s 1500m freestyle been added to the Olympic program earlier than three years ago, when the American won by more than four seconds in the event’s debut in Tokyo. Now she is a back-to-back Olympic champion in the event, breaking her own record for a women’s singles title with a seventh individual gold medal.
Earlier on Wednesday evening, Torri Huske of the United States claimed her third medal of the Paris Games with a silver medal in the 100-meter freestyle, behind Sweden’s Sarah Sjöström, who at age 30 became the second-oldest woman to win an individual Olympic gold medal, after Netherlands’ Inge de Bruijn in 2004.
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Huske already won gold in the 100 meter butterfly and silver in the 4×100 meter freestyle at these Olympic Games.