Katie Ledecky Secures Her 12th Olympic Gold Medal

NANTERRE, France — During a night when Léon Marchand was pursuing a daring double, Katie Ledecky once again demonstrated that she is a reliable contender in swimming’s lengthiest race.

Ledecky cruised to her seventh individual Olympic gold medal – including one team gold in a relay – and 12th medal overall with a dominant victory in the 1,500-meter freestyle on Wednesday at the Paris Games.

The 27-year-old Ledecky equaled the record of fellow Americans Dara Torres, Natalie Coughlin, and Jenny Thompson for the most medals ever by a female swimmer. Ledecky previously held the record for the most individual gold medals by a woman with seven; she now has eight golds overall, including a relay victory.

Ledecky took the lead from the beginning and gradually extended her lead, finishing in an Olympic-record time of 15 minutes, 30.02 seconds in a race that was added to the women’s program at the Tokyo Games in 2021.

This race mirrored the one from three years ago: Ledecky well ahead with everyone else vying for second place.

Anastasiia Kirpichinikova of France finished nearly half a lap behind but delighted the local fans by securing the silver in 15:40.35.

The bronze was awarded to Germany’s Isabel Gose in 15:41.16.

After commencing the Paris Games with a bronze in the 400 freestyle, this outcome seemed more familiar for Ledecky.

She was evidently elated to be back at the top, splashing the water and raising her fist several times while walking across the deck — an unusual display of emotion for a composed athlete who operates with mechanical efficiency.

Marchand started a very hectic night with a remarkable finishing sprint.

Trailing for most of the race, the 22-year-old French competitor surged ahead of defending Olympic champion and world-record holder Kristóf Milák to claim his second gold medal of the Paris Games with a triumph in the 200 butterfly on Wednesday night.

The audience at La Defense Arena roared as Marchand finished in an Olympic record time of 1:51.71, defeating Milák by a mere four-hundredths of a second.

Marchand extended his dominance from the 400 individual medley and was just getting warmed up on this incredibly busy night: He was scheduled to compete again two hours later as the fastest qualifier in the 200 breaststroke event.

Indeed, the comparisons to Michael Phelps don’t appear to be unfounded at all.

Marchand raised a single finger upon seeing the “1” next to his name on the scoreboard. The 22-year-old shook his head slightly, as if he couldn’t quite believe his accomplishment.

He then hurried off the platform to another enthusiastic cheer from the local crowd. He needed to begin preparing for his next race,

Sarah Sjöström celebrated her fifth Olympics with a gold medal victory.

The 30-year-old Swedish veteran executed a remarkable sprint to secure her second gold medal of her illustrious career in the 100 freestyle.

Sjöström had limited her participation in the last two world championships to only the 50 freestyle. She opted to include the 100 at the Paris Games, and that decision paid off handsomely.

“I didn’t anticipate swimming the 100 free honestly,” she admitted, but her coach convinced her to do so. “I wanted to rest until the fifth day and he was like, ‘No way. You need to go out there and see what you can do no matter the outcome.’”

Incredibly, despite holding the world record in the event for seven years, Sjöström had never claimed victory in the 100 free at major competitions.

Her only previous Olympic medal in the event was a bronze in 2016. At the world championships, she has four silvers and a bronze.

Sjöström was in fourth place at the turn but accelerated on the final lap, touching the wall in 52.16 seconds. The U.S. team settled for another silver medal — its eighth of the swimming competition – when Torri Huske finished in 52.29. Siobhan Haughey of Hong Kong took the bronze in 52.33, beating Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan by one-hundredth of a second.

It was Sjöström’s fifth Olympic medal overall, having first competed in the 2008 Beijing Games where Phelps won a record eight gold medals. Her previous gold came in the 100 butterfly at Rio de Janiero in 2016.

This triumph may be the most gratifying of all. She gasped in astonishment and pounded the water when she saw her time and, more significantly, the number next to it.

Once again, she was an Olympic champion.

“I’m extremely proud of myself for taking on this challenge,” Sjöström remarked. “I think my emotion, my reaction said everything.”

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games