Katie Ledecky solidified her status as the greatest female swimmer by winning her fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle at the Paris Olympics, bringing her total Olympic medal count to 14.
With a time of 8:11.04, she defeated Australia’s Ariarne Titmus and American Paige Madden, both of whom set personal bests but could not surpass Ledecky.
This victory marks a historic achievement, making her the first woman to win any swimming event in four consecutive Olympics, a feat previously accomplished only by Michael Phelps.
Congratulations to #KatieLedecky on winning the gold medal in the women’s 800m freestyle and becoming the first woman in history to win the same event at four consecutive Olympic Games. #RLxTeamUSA #TeamUSA #ParisOlympics #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/gUJ6Gu8TLF
— Ralph Lauren (@RalphLauren) August 3, 2024
Ledecky is now tied with Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina for the most gold medals won by a woman in any sport in Olympic history, with nine golds.
“These things, I hear them, I see them, but I don’t really focus on them. I just stay focused on my own goals, my goals are very time focused and splits focused and technically focused. The rest is what it is and you guys (journalists) can write about it, and you guys can focus on it, but personally I’m just going to stay focused on my own goals.”
Throughout the Paris Games, Ledecky also earned a bronze in the 400 freestyle, a gold in the 1,500 freestyle, and a silver in the women’s 4×200 freestyle relay.
Although her participation in these Olympics has concluded, she aims to compete in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
