800m freestyle

Ninth gold medal for US swimmer Ledecky!

Katie Ledecky won gold in the 800 meter freestyle.(Bild: AFP/APA/STF)

The US American Katie Ledecky has secured another entry in the Olympic history books with her ninth gold medal. The 27-year-old crawl long-distance luminary also won the 800 m on Saturday in Paris and is the new number three in the all-time list of the best swimmers at the Summer Games with nine Olympic victories, four silver and one bronze medal.

Only her compatriot and swimming colleague Michael Phelps (23-3-2) and gymnast Larissa Latynina (9-5-4) are ahead of her.

Two-time world record holder
Ledecky has also collected a record 21 world titles since her 2012 Olympic gold medal debut as a 15-year-old. She also holds the world records in the 800m and 1,500m on both the short and long track. In Paris, she already won the 1,500 m outright and took bronze in the 400 m. She won the 800 m - for the fourth time in a row at the Olympics - in 8:11.04 minutes, well ahead of Australia's Ariarne Titmus. "It's a huge relief. I put a lot of pressure on myself because I had already won the 800 three times. I wanted the gold for Team USA, that was very important to me, I got the job done," said Ledecky.

Together with Latynina, who competed for the USSR in the 1950s and 1960s, she also leads the joint women's rankings for the Summer and Winter Games. Ledecky wants to add more gold moments at her home Games in Los Angeles in 2028. "I'm just happy with what I've achieved in my career so far, I want to keep going and see what else I can do," said Ledecky.

Young star Summer McIntosh secured her third individual gold medal in Paris. The 17-year-old Canadian triumphed in the 200m medley in a new Olympic record of 2:06.56 minutes.