At the 2024 Paris Games, Katie Ledecky dominated the women’s 1500m freestyle, a race where she was the clear favorite. Ledecky, who holds the 19 fastest times in this event, finished with an Olympic record time of 15:30.02, a full ten seconds ahead of the runner-up. She earned her eighth Olympic gold with this victory and joined Jenny Thompson for the most gold medals by an American woman. Matching the U.S. women’s record of 12 total medals shared with Thompson, Natalie Coughlin, and Dara Torres is her another achievement to be considered for appraisal.
Reflecting on her achievement, Ledecky expressed gratitude for the swimmers who inspired her. She said that history is something she tries not to think about very much. She felt honored to be named among them. She was grateful to them for inspiring her.
The race began with Ledecky slightly ahead of her own world record pace at the 500m mark. Although she fell behind her world-record pace by six seconds with 400m to go, she maintained an Olympic record pace, averaging 31-second laps. Anastasia Kirpichnikova of France secured the silver, while Germany’s Isabel Gose claimed bronze with a time of 15:41.16.
This gold adds to Ledecky’s bronze in the women’s 400m freestyle. She aims for more medals in the upcoming women’s 4x200m freestyle relay and the women’s 800m freestyle. If she got one more medal then she would make her the most decorated female U.S. Olympian in history, only behind Michael Phelps overall.
Ledecky’s performance continues to cement her legacy as one of the greatest swimmers of all time.
