July 31, 2021 at 07:32AMAlice Park
Distance is where Katie Ledecky feels at home. There’s no one better at powering through the long (and tedious) races, and Ledecky reaffirmed that with a decisive win in the 800-m freestyle, the event that started her Olympic experience back in 2012.
The win capped off Ledecky’s Tokyo Olympics; it was her last individual after racing four freestyle distances—the 200 m, 400 m, 800 m and 1,500 m—and medaling in three events. Days earlier, she made history by winning the first women’s 1,500-m ever raced at an Olympics—and she did it about an hour after swimming the 200-m freestyle.
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In typical Ledecky fashion, she pulled out ahead of the field after the first turn, and never gave up the lead. Rowdy Gaines, Olympic champion and NBC commentator, tells TIME that no one is better than Ledecky at finding “fresh water”—meaning she’s far enough ahead of the pack that she’s not wasting energy battling anyone’s wake or splash.
Ledecky swam past growing freestyle rival Ariarne Titmus of Australia, who attempted to pull off what Ledecky had done in Rio and sweep the 200-m, 400-m and 800-m freestyle races. But fell short in the 800-m, finishing 8:12.57. Ledecky also held off her young teammate, Katie Grimes, who like Ledecky did in 2012, is only 15 years old and appearing in her first Olympics to race in the same event Ledecky had, and finished fourth.
While Ledecky wasn’t able to beat her own world record, which she’s done four time since setting her first one in 2013, her swim was the 17th fastest time in history, and she still owns the 10 fastest times for the 800-m freestyle.
Read more about the Tokyo Olympics:
- Naomi Osaka: ‘It’s O.K. to Not Be O.K.’
- Motherhood Could Have Cost Olympian Allyson Felix. She Wouldn’t Let It
- Simone Biles’ Olympic Team Final Withdrawal Could Help Athletes Put Their Mental Health First
- ‘Unapologetic and Unafraid.’ Sue Bird Stares Down Olympic Glory in Tokyo and Equity Off the Court
- Meet 6 Heroes Who Helped Battle COVID-19 Before Competing in the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics
- Here’s How Many Medals Every Country Has Won at the Tokyo Summer Olympics So Far
- 48 Athletes to Watch at the Tokyo Olympics
- The Olympic Refugee Team Was Created to Offer Hope. Some Athletes Are Running Away From It
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