Katie Ledecky sure knows how to make a splash at the Olympics.
The swimmer won her ninth gold medal in the women’s 800m freestyle in Paris on Saturday, August 3, tying former Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina for the most gold medals by any Olympian.
Ledecky, 27, beat Australia’s Ariarne Titmus, who hugged Ledecky in the pool after winning silver, and Team USA’s Paige Madden, who took home the bronze medal.
The win, which came at Paris’ La Défense Arena, marked Ledecky’s 14th Olympic medal and her fourth straight gold in the women’s 800m freestyle. She previously set the world record in the event in Rio 2016, with a time of 8:04.79.
Erin Gemmell, Paige Madden, Claire Weinstein and Katie Ledecky show off their silver medal on August 1st.
Christian Liewig/Getty
All the medals Olympic swimming star Katie Ledecky has won to date
“I knew it was going to be a tough race and I felt confident going into it, but I knew it was going to be tough no matter what, all the way to the end,” Ledecky told reporters, including PEOPLE, after the races. “So I just had to stick with the race and trust myself, trust my training, trust that I know how to get out of it.”
As for her record, Ledecky said it’s “not something you think about,” but that the Aug. 3 date is important to her because it’s the same date she won in 2012.
“I didn’t want August 3rd to be a day I didn’t like,” she said. “I felt like I was putting a lot of pressure on myself, but [I’m] I’m really happy that I was able to get it.”
Saturday’s hardware comes two days after the star athlete made history by becoming the most decorated U.S. Olympian when she won a silver medal in the women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay alongside Erin Gemmell, Paige Madden and Claire Weinstein.
With the end of the final race, Ledecky leaves Paris with gold in the 800m freestyle and 1500m freestyle, silver in the 4x200m freestyle relay and bronze in the 400m freestyle.
“I try not to think too much about history,” she told reporters on Wednesday. “So it’s just an honor to be named among them. And I am grateful that they inspired me.”
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Katie Ledecky wins gold in Paris on July 31.
Xavier Laine/Getty
Katie Ledecky is now the most decorated Olympian in US history after winning silver in the relay
The swimmer currently holds two world records in swimming and three Olympic records, one of which she set in Paris on July 31 (women’s 1500m freestyle, which she swam in 15:30.02).
Latynina, with whom Ledecky now shares the title, made her Olympic debut at age 21 at the 1956 Melbourne Games. For years, she was the only Olympic athlete to win 18 medals, until Michael Phelps broke her record in 2012.
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Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education