There was little doubt Katie Ledecky would take home gold in the 1500 freestyle. The only question was her margin of victory.
Ledecky set an Olympic record with a winning time of 15:30.02 and won her eighth career Olympic gold medal. That ties her with American swimmer Jenny Thompson for the most all-time, and with Americans Natalie Coughlin and Dara Torres and Canadian Emma McKeon for most total medals with 12.
She’d have more if the Olympics had included the 1500 before the Tokyo Games, where Ledecky also won gold. The 27-year-old now has the 20 fastest 1500 times in history and hasn’t lost a 1500 race since she was 13 years old. In Wednesday’s final, she finished more than 10 seconds ahead of silver medalist Anastasiya Kirpichnikova.
Ledecky is favored to win a ninth gold medal in the 800 freestyle, an event she’s won in three straight Olympics, starting in 2012 in London. She’ll also be in the 4×200 free relay, where McKeon and the Australian team are heavy favorites, but the USA has an excellent chance at a medal. Ledecky won gold in that event in 2016 and a silver at the Tokyo Games.
By the time her career ends, Ledecky may be as far ahead in the career medal count than she was in the 1500 final.