American swimming sensation Katie Ledecky made history once again on Thursday by securing her place as the most decorated female US Olympian ever. Her silver medal in the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay brought her total to 13 Olympic medals.
Australia clinched gold with a new Olympic record time of 7:38.08, while the US team took silver with a time of 7:40.86, and China earned bronze with 7:42.34.
This achievement followed Ledecky’s victory in the 1,500-meter freestyle on Wednesday, where she dominated her signature event, holding the top 20 fastest times in history.
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After Wednesday’s win, Ledecky mentioned she doesn’t focus on historical records. “I try not to think about history very much,” she said. “I know those names, those people I’m up with. They’re people I looked up to when I first started swimming. So it’s an honor to be named among them. I’m grateful for them inspiring me. There are so many great swimmers that have helped me get to this moment.”
Despite a bronze medal in the 400-meter freestyle, where she was defeated by Australian rival Ariarne Titmus, Ledecky is preparing for her next event, the 800m freestyle, on Saturday.
Looking ahead, Ledecky expressed her excitement about the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. “Yeah, I’ve been consistent these last few months and these last few years, in saying that I would love to compete in LA, and that hasn’t changed,” she said. “I don’t feel like I’m close to being finished in this sport yet. I’d love to continue on and just seeing the kind of support that the French athletes are getting here, I think all the US athletes are thinking about how cool that could be in Los Angeles, having the home crowd. So, that would be amazing to compete there.”
(Includes inputs from online sources)
