Katie Ledecky decimated her own world record for the women’s 800-meter freestyle at the Rio Olympics on Friday, touching the final wall with no other competitors in sight.
The 19-year-old American swimmer has now claimed four gold medals during the Rio Olympics.
In Friday’s final, Ledecky beat her own world record by two seconds, with a time of 8 minutes, 4.79 seconds. She won her first Olympic medal in 2012 in the 800-meter freestyle, too, but now, four years later, did it almost 10 seconds faster. Ledecky has now broken her own world record six times in the 800-meter freestyle. She is also the the first woman since America’s Debbie Meyer in 1968 to take gold in the 200-, 400- and 800- meter freestyle, according to The New York Times.
Jazmin Carlin of Great Britain came in second at 8 minutes, 16.17 seconds, more than 11 seconds slower than Ledecky. Boglárka Kapás of Hungary came in third at 8 minutes, 16.37 seconds.
Ledecky’s trophy case is quickly expanding; she’s now earned five Olympic gold medals. In Rio de Janeiro, she also won for the 200-meter freestyle and the 400-meter freestyle ― during which race she smashed another of her own world records ― along with the 4x200-meter freestyle relay with the U.S. swim team. She scored a silver medal with her team for the 4x100-meter freestyle relay, too.
Teammate Michael Phelps broke a 2,000-year-old Olympic record Thursday by scoring his 22nd Olympic gold medal. While he and American swimmer Lilly King have caused a stir for their celebratory and delightfully shame-y finger-wagging after their victories, Ledecky maintained her signature modest disposition after her Friday win.
Ledecky, hailing from Maryland, is pledged to begin at Stanford University as a freshman in the fall, where she will continue swimming ― likely keeping in tip-top shape for the next Olympics.
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