Katie Ledecky is now probably the most embellished U.S. feminine athlete in Olympic historical past.
The 27-year-old D.C.-area native broke data at La Défense Area in Paris on Thursday after incomes her thirteenth Olympic medal throughout the ladies’s 4 x 200m freestyle relay.
That is the swimmer’s fourth silver medal. She additionally holds eight gold medals, tying her with American swimmer Jenny Thompson, and one bronze.
Workforce USA completed second behind Australia, which was favored to win the gold medal. China got here in third for bronze.
The final time the U.S. ladies’s crew received gold on this occasion was throughout the 2016 Rio Video games. They got here shut once more on the 2020 Video games in Tokyo however needed to accept silver, after China beat them in a neck-and-neck race.
It marks an enormous milestone for Ledecky, who has shocked audiences since her Olympic debut on the 2012 London Video games.
Ledecky, simply 15 on the time, left a long-lasting impression after defeating reigning world champion Kate Ziegler within the 800m freestyle to win gold.
She continued to captivate sport followers on the 2016 and 2020 Video games, racking up 9 extra medals, for a complete of 10 going into this yr’s Video games.
Ledecky has continued to dominate in Paris. Previous to Thursday’s victory, she received a bronze medal within the ladies’s 400-meter freestyle and gold within the 1,500-meter freestyle, her signature occasion. And the swim legend broke her personal file within the 1,500-meter occasion, ending 10 seconds earlier than competitor Anastasiia Kirpichnikova of France with an Olympic file time of 15:30.02.
“I just wanted to swim a time I could be really happy with, and that was the one. It’s never easy to win a gold medal. Just trying to soak in every moment of it,” she mentioned after that race.
All through her profession, Ledecky has damaged 14 world and 37 nationwide data.
After Workforce USA’s triumph Thursday, Ledecky now holds the file for probably the most medals in ladies’s Olympic swimming historical past, surpassing People Jenny Thompson, Dara Torres and Natalie Coughlin and Australian Emma McKeon, who every maintain 12 medals.
American swimmer Michael Phelps has probably the most Olympic medals of any athlete, with 23 gold medals, three silver and two bronze.
Ledecky is not completed but. She is set to compete once more in Paris throughout the ladies’s 800-meter freestyle ultimate. The freestyle heats will begin Friday at 5 a.m. ET and the finals will happen the next day at 3:08 p.m.
This story was initially printed by CBS Information on Aug. 1, 2024.
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