Long live the Freestyle Queen.
Katie Ledecky captured her second career gold medal in the 1500m freestyle race with a time of 15:30:02 in the 2024 Olympics on Wednesday at Paris La Defense Arena, marking the star American swimmer’s eighth career gold and 12th overall medal to tie her with Jenny Thompson for the most among female swimmers in history.
It was yet another royally impressive performance by Ledecky, who remains undefeated in the event in her professional career.
“I’m just so honored to represent our country,” Ledecky said after the race, adding how she drew inspiration from all the women who came before her.Ledecky now has two more opportunities in these games to cement herself as the most decorated Olympic female swimmer of all time.After qualifying for this final race with a time nearly 18 seconds ahead of the next fastest swimmer, Ledecky again maintained a sizable distance from her opponents for nearly the entire race and finished over 10 seconds ahead of silver-medal winner Anastasiya Kirpichnikova of France (15:40:35).
Germany’s Isabel Gose clocked in at 15:41:16 to earn bronze.
As has been the case before, the broadcast struggled to keep both Ledecky and her opponents in the same frame.
Upon getting out of the pool, Ledecky emphatically pumped her fists into the air to celebrate owning the top 20 times in the world for the 1500m freestyle race.
No other swimmer was even in the frame when Katie Ledecky finished 😳
Absolute DOMINANCE as she breaks the women’s 1500m freestyle Olympic record 🔥 pic.twitter.com/YcoQS2AlzB
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 31, 2024
With two medals already under her belt in these Olympics, including the bronze she earned in the 400m freestyle, Ledecky is only one medal away from becoming the most decorated Olympic female swimmer of all time.
Currently tied with Thompson, Dara Torres, Natalie Coughlin and Emma McKeon with 12 total Olympic medals, Ledecky can enter her own class and obtain the sole title if she medals in at least one of either the 4×200 free relay or the 800m freestyle.
One more gold medal would make her the first woman to win nine gold medals in swimming and tie her with Mark Spitz for the second-most swimming gold in Olympic history, regardless of gender.
She could join fellow American Michael Phelps (28) as the only two swimmers, male or female, to win 13 total medals at the Olympics if she reaches the podium one more time.
The 27-year-old is also just two gold medals shy of surpassing Russian gymnast Laris Latynina’s record of nine.
