NANTERRE, France — Katie Ledecky is rewriting the history books. Again.
On Saturday night, she took gold in the women’s 800-meter freestyle, her fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal in the event. It marks the first time a woman ever won four gold medals in the same event and also brought Ledecky’s career total up to nine Olympic gold medals, which ties Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina for the most all-time by a female Olympian.
Ledecky logged a time of 8:11.04 to clinch her latest gold. Australian Ariarne Titmus (8:12.29) and American Paige Madden (8:13.00) took silver and bronze, respectively.
Ledecky was the heavy favorite in the 800 free, just as she was earlier in the week in the 1500-meter freestyle. The 27-year-old is less dominant in shorter distances, but she remains the world’s greatest distance swimmer.
GO DEEPER
Katie Ledecky sets Olympic record in 1500m freestyle
Coming into Saturday night’s race, Ledecky already owned 29 of the 30 fastest times in world history in the women’s 800 free. And she continues to relish them.
Earlier this week, she reiterated her interest in swimming at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, when she’ll be 31 years old. She loves the training, and she loves the heaviness of the workload.
“To thrive in distance swims, you have to train…
