“Swimming Empress” Katie Ledecky (27, USA) won her ninth Olympic gold medal in her career.
Ledecky shot a touchpad with a time of 8:11:04 in the women’s 800-meter freestyle final of the 2024 Paris Olympics, which took place at La Defense Arena in Paris, France on Monday (Korea time), finishing first, a time of 1:25 ahead of Ariane Titmus (24, Australia, 8:12:29). Ledecky won two gold medals following the 1,500-meter freestyle. Including the 4×200-meter freestyle relay and the 400-meter freestyle, respectively, she showed off her solid performance with her fourth medal of the competition.
Ledecky’s main event is the 800-meter freestyle. Ledecky never missed the top spot in Paris following the 2012 London, 2016 Rio, and 2020 Tokyo Games. BBC reported that Ledecky became the only female athlete except Michael Phelps to win four Olympic gold medals in a single event, tied with Larissa Latina, a Soviet gymnast. Ledecky increased her total Olympic medals to 14 (nine gold, four silver, and one bronze). Ledecky previously won silver in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, becoming the most decorated female Olympian in the U.S. with 12 previous records. Ledecky won the 800-meter freestyle without difficulty.
BBC reported that Ledecky has overwhelmingly dominated the women’s 800-meter freestyle. She has only lost in this event once in the past 13 years. Over the past 10 years, the only athlete who has lost in this event to Ledecky was notable newcomer Summer McIntosh of Canada. However, as McIntosh did not compete in the 800-meter freestyle, the final round was narrowed down to Ledecky vs. Teatmus. Ledecky was generous in first place, with a time of 3.37 seconds ahead of Ledecky, who finished third in the women’s 400-meter freestyle final, which was dubbed the “confrontation of the century.” Ledecky did not allow two losses. Ledecky and Teatmus honored each other by raising their hands after finishing the 800-meter freestyle final.
“We’ve seen some history,” said Steve Parry of the U.K., who won the bronze medal in the men’s 200-meter butterfly at the 2004 Athens Olympics. “Ledeki is an absolute queen in a swimming pool. It’s wonderful to see someone dominate long-distance events for 13 years,” he said, applauding Ledeki for his achievements.
BY: 토토사이트