Katie Ledecky concluded another impressive Olympics by becoming only the second swimmer to win an event at four consecutive Summer Games, managing to hold off Ariarne Titmus to clinch the 800-meter freestyle on Saturday night.
This marked Ledecky’s second gold medal in Paris and her ninth in an outstanding career, which reached another historic milestone. She became just the sixth Olympian to achieve that feat, joining legends like swimmer Mark Spitz, track star Carl Lewis, Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina, and Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi, tying for second place.
The only athlete with more golds is swimmer Michael Phelps with an astounding 23.
Ledecky clocked in at 8 minutes, 11.04 seconds, faster than her winning time in Tokyo. Titmus, the Australian standout known as the “Terminator,” stayed close to Ledecky throughout the race but Ledecky pulled away in the final 100 meters.
Titmus, who bested Ledecky in the 400 freestyle, settled for silver with a time of 8:12.29. The bronze went to another American, Paige Madden, finishing at 8:13.00.
Phelps was the sole swimmer to win the same event at four straight summer Olympics, clinching gold in the 200 individual medley in Athens, Beijing, London, and Rio de Janeiro.
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Now, Ledecky joins that elite group.
Ledecky claimed her first gold with a surprising win in the 800 free at the 2012 London Games at only 15 years old. Since then, she has dominated the challenging race and shows no signs of slowing down.
Ledecky has expressed her intention to continue swimming at least until the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Another gold for McIntosh
Summer McIntosh showcased herself as one of the swimming sensations of the Paris Olympics with her third individual gold medal.
The 17-year-old Canadian caught up with American Alex Walsh and fended off another U.S. swimmer, Kate Douglass, to set an Olympic record with a time of 2:06.56.
Douglass secured the silver in a star-studded final at 2:06.92, but the Americans lost the bronze when Walsh, the silver medalist in this event in Tokyo, got disqualified for not finishing the backstroke segment on her back.
McKeown, initially fourth, was upgraded to the bronze at 2:08.08.
This turn of events was disappointing for Walsh, whose younger sister, Gretchen, secured two silver medals in Paris.
McIntosh set multiple world records leading up to the Paris Olympics and lived up to the high expectations by shining alongside LĂ©on Marchand and Ledecky at La Defense Arena.
McIntosh also bagged gold medals in the 200 butterfly and 400 IM, as well as a silver in the 400 freestyle. She narrowly missed matching Marchand’s four individual golds by just 0.88 seconds — the margin of her loss to Ariarne Titmus.
Hungarian claims butterfly gold
KristĂłf Milák from Hungary secured the men’s 100 butterfly title by overtaking three swimmers in the final lap.
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Milák was fourth at the halfway mark but raced to victory in 49.90. Canada claimed the silver and bronze with Josh Liendo finishing at 49.99 and Ilya Kharun at 50.45.
Milák failed to defend his Olympic title in the 200 butterfly, settling for silver behind French star Marchand.
Three years ago, Milák secured silver in the 100 fly, but this time around, American Caeleb Dressel surprisingly failed to qualify for the final, posting the 13th-fastest time in the semifinals on Friday.
Kharun added another bronze to the one he earned in the 200 butterfly.
Final race of the night
The highlight of the evening was the thrilling 4×100 mixed medley relay, featuring teams with two men and two women.
Marchand was set to swim the breaststroke leg for France, providing him with an opportunity to add another medal to his collection alongside his four individual golds.
Britain emerged victorious in the event at the Tokyo Games, where the mixed event made its Olympic debut.
