Katie Ledecky wins gold in 1500m freestyle with new Olympic record

At the 2024 Paris Games there might not have been an event with a more obvious favorite than Katie Ledecky and the women’s 1500m freestyle. The long-distance specialist owns the 19 fastest times in the event’s history and won the 1500m in its debut in Tokyo. In a race that often goes viral for photos of Ledecky being so far in front of her competitors that they’re out of frame, it wasn’t a question of if she’d win the race but by how much.

Ledecky tied swimming legend Jenny Thompson for the most Olympic gold medals won by an American woman with her final time of 15:30.02, an Olympic record and ten seconds faster than the next competitor. She also shared the record for the most medals ever won by a woman from the United States (12) with Thompson, Natalie Coughlin, and Dara Torres.

After the race, the distance swimmer gave some thought to the achievement. "I try not to think too much about the past," she remarked, "I know the names of the people I grew up with." When I started swimming, I looked up to these people. Thus, to be mentioned among them is an honor. I am appreciative of them for motivating me. I've received a lot of support from excellent swimmers to get to this point."

FULL RESULTS

Unexpectedly, and as a prelude to what was to come, Coughlin was present to formally inaugurate the swimming session with "les trois coups" (a pre-event custom prior to Paris 2024 events).

The race got underway as scheduled, with Ledecky breaking her own world record by.11 seconds at the 500-meter mark. After breaking the record in 2013, she reset it five more times.

The race for second place was thrilling at the 500-meter mark, though. Anastasia Kirpichnikova of France, Simona Quadarella of Italy, and Isabel Gose of Germany were almost tied for first place.

Ledecky was still ahead of the Olympic record pace with 400 meters to go, but she had dropped six seconds below her world mark pace. She routinely turned in lap times in the 31-second area, demonstrating her absolute domination. Meanwhile, Gose and Quadarella fought for bronze, with Kirpichnikova comfortably in second position.

Ledecky was comfortably ahead of the pack as the final lap bell rang, leaving only the possibility that she would set a new Olympic record. As she touched the wall, the crowd roared for a long time. Her career best time at the distance was 15:30.02, placing her ninth.

Ultimately, Gose of Germany took home bronze with a time of 15:41.16, while Kirpichnikova of France managed to hold on for silver.

Ledecky already won bronze in the women’s 400m freestyle. Her next opportunity to earn a medal will be in the women's 4x200m freestyle relay on Thursday. If she accomplishes that, it would be her 13th career Olympic medal, which would make her the most decorated female U.S. Olympian in history. She would only be behind Michael Phelps (28) overall. Ledecky's next opportunity for an individual medal will be the women’s 800m freestyle. The preliminary heats take place on Friday, August 2nd, with the final set for Saturday, August 3rd.