American swimmer Katie Ledecky made history at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games by claiming her ninth career gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle final to become the athlete with the most titles at all Olympics, tying Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina.
Ledecky, 27, won in 8 minutes 11.04 seconds, beating Australia’s Ariarne Titmus and compatriot Paige Madden to make history at the Paris Games and enter the record books alongside the retired Latynina, both atop the gold medal podium with nine. The former Soviet gymnast, who won a total of 18 medals (four more than Ledecky), had achieved the feat of nine golds at the 1956 Melbourne, 1960 Rome and 1964 Tokyo Games.
Ledecky’s standout performance in Paris left a sense that she will be chasing more records in Olympic competition ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games. The American swimmer, who already has a total of 14 Olympic medals under her belt, showed her potential by taking revenge on Titmus, who had beaten her in the 400m freestyle the previous week at the aquatic centre.
With her fourth consecutive gold in the 800m freestyle, Ledecky reached Latynina’s legendary milestone, a milestone that is being talked about around the world. This triumph follows her gold medal in the 1500m freestyle won at these same Games, where she left her mark and perpetuated her legacy in the world of swimming.
Katie Ledecky holds her gold medal after the 800-meter freestyle event in swimming. The American won her ninth Olympic title and became the joint-most successful in history alongside Soviet Latynina (REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina)
In addition to Ledecky’s feat, Canadian Summer McIntosh also had a remarkable run at the Paris Games, winning the 200-meter medley final and setting a new Olympic record with a time of 2 minutes and 06.56 seconds.
In this event, McIntosh beat American Kate Douglass and Australian Kaylee McKeown, the champion of the 100 and 200 meters backstroke. The disqualification of American Alex Walsh allowed McKeown to take the bronze with a time of 2:08.08.
In the 100-meter butterfly final, Hungarian swimmer Kristof Milak took gold with a time of 49.90 seconds, consolidating his position in competitive swimming worldwide.
The US swimming team’s performance in Paris has also been remarkable, although they are still behind Australia in the swimming medal table. With a total of 5 golds, 12 silvers and 7 bronzes, the United States finds itself competing fiercely against Australia, which leads with 7 golds, 6 silvers and 2 bronzes. This competition between the two swimming powerhouses will maintain its intensity during the remaining days of the Olympic Games.
The pavilion of The Defense The event in Paris has witnessed these impressive achievements, with the crowd giving the athletes a huge ovation for their outstanding performances. In particular, Ledecky’s fans celebrated in a big way, chanting “USA, USA” during her victory, a reminder of the strong support the swimmer has in her country.
Within this context, the performance of the young French swimmer Léon Marchand, nicknamed the Lion King‘, who has achieved four individual golds in The Defenseproving to be one of the great protagonists of these Olympic Games.
All of Katie Ledecky’s Olympic medals:
-London 2012:
- Gold: 800 meters freestyle
– Rio de Janeiro 2016:
- Gold: 200 meters freestyle
- Gold: 400 meters freestyle
- Gold: 800 meters freestyle
- Gold: 4×200 meter freestyle relay
- Silver: 4×100 meter freestyle relay
– Tokyo 2020:
- Gold: 800 meters freestyle
- Gold: 1500 meters freestyle
- Silver: 400 meters freestyle
- Silver: 4×200 meter freestyle relay
– Paris 2024:
- Gold: 800 meters freestyle
- Gold: 1500 meters freestyle
- Bronze: 400 meters freestyle
- Silver: 4×200 meter freestyle relay
