August 2, 2024; Nanterre, France; Katie Ledecky (USA) during the women’s 800m freestyle preliminaries of the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics at La Défense Stadium in Paris. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports PARIS — Katie Ledecky won a record-tying ninth career gold medal at the Paris Olympics on Saturday, capturing an unprecedented fourth women’s 800-meter freestyle title.
The American great hit the wall at La Défense Arena in 8 minutes 11.04 seconds, 1.25 seconds ahead of Australian silver medalist Ariane Titmus.
Paige Madden won bronze for Team USA.
Ledecky’s ninth gold medal in four Olympics tied her with former Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina for the all-time record for a female Olympian.
She also joins American great Michael Phelps as the only swimmers to win four Olympic gold medals in the same event.
Ledecky, 27, also won gold in the 1,500-meter freestyle event earlier this week. She won her first gold medal in London in 2012, followed by four gold medals in Rio and two more in Tokyo.
——Reuters, especially for live media
