Ledecky holds off Aussie to win 9th gold medal | The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

NANTERRE, France — Every year on Aug. 3, Katie Ledecky is reminded of her first Olympic gold medal.

She was just 15, a reserved high school girl who surprisingly made the U.S. swimming team for the London Games. Then she went out and shocked the world, beating everyone in the 800-meter freestyle.

Twelve years later, Ledecky did it again.

It’s nothing surprising, but it’s something to go down in history.

Ledecky capped another stellar Olympics by becoming only the second swimmer to win an event in four consecutive Summer Games, defeating “Terminator” Ariarne Titmus to win the 800-meter freestyle on Saturday night.

It was Ledecky’s second gold medal in Paris and the ninth of her remarkable career, which represented another milestone.

She became just the sixth Olympian to reach that figure, joining swimmer Mark Spitz, track and field star Carl Lewis, Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina and Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi in a tie for second place.

The only athlete to win more golds: swimmer Michael Phelps, with 23.

Ledecky was well aware of the significance of the date.

“Every August 3, the video (of her first Olympic gold) gets posted somewhere and you kind of reminisce,” she said. “So when I saw it was August 3, I was like, ‘Wow, I need to get this done.'”

She did, going faster than her winning time in Tokyo to finish in 8:11.04. Titmus was right on her shoulder for most of the race, but Ledecky pulled away in the last 100 meters.

Titmus, who beat Ledecky in the 400 free, took silver in 8:12.29. Bronze went to another American, Paige Madden in 8:13.00.

Phelps was the only swimmer to win the same event at four consecutive Olympics, taking gold in the 200-meter individual medley in Athens, Beijing, London and Rio de Janeiro.

Now he has company.

Titmus added some perspective on Ledecky’s consistency over the past dozen years, noting where she was when the American won her first gold in London.

“I was in sixth grade,” Titmus said. “That’s how extraordinary she is.”

Their friendly rivalry has propelled both women to greater heights. They each won two golds and four medals at these Games, which dropped Ledecky to 14th overall and left the 23-year-old Australian with four golds and eight medals in her career.

“To think that eight years later, I challenged her for her fourth consecutive 800 is pretty cool,” Titmus said. “So I’m really proud of myself and I feel very honored and privileged to be her rival, and hopefully I’ve made her a better athlete. She certainly made me the athlete that I am. I felt very privileged to run alongside her.”

Ledecky has dominated the distance freestyle events for the past dozen years — and she’s not done yet. She’s made it clear that she plans to keep swimming at least through the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

“It’s not easy,” Ledecky said. “I’m going to take it year by year, and see if I can keep giving it everything I’ve got for the time I have left.”

ANOTHER GOLD

Summer McIntosh cemented herself as one of the swimming stars at the Paris Olympics with her third individual gold medal, winning the 200-meter medley.

The 17-year-old Canadian chased down American Alex Walsh and held off another American swimmer, Kate Douglass, to finish in an Olympic record of 2:06.56.

Douglass took silver in the star-studded final in 2:06.92, but the Americans lost the bronze when Walsh, the silver medalist in this event in Tokyo who clocked a time of 2:07.06, was disqualified because she did not finish the backstroke segment.

Australia’s Kaylee McKeown, who finished fourth, moved up to bronze in 2:08.08.

It was a bitter blow for Walsh, whose younger sister, Gretchen, won a gold and two silver medals in Paris.

McIntosh set several world records ahead of the Paris Olympics and lived up to huge expectations by claiming a starring role at the La Defense Arena, alongside Leon Marchand and Ledecky.

McIntosh also won gold medals in the 200 butterfly and 400 individual medley, as well as a silver in the 400 free. She fell just 0.88 seconds—the margin of her loss to Titmus—away from matching Marchand’s four individual golds.

“It’s pretty surreal,” said McIntosh, who became the first Canadian athlete to win three golds at a single Olympics. “I’m really proud of myself and how I was able to bounce back and manage the events.”

US SET RECORD

The United States made up for its disappointment in Tokyo by setting a world record in the 400-meter mixed medley relay.

Ryan Murphy, Nic Fink, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske held off China to post a time of 3:37.43, breaking the 3:37.58 mark set by Great Britain when it won gold in the event’s Olympic debut three years ago.

With each team picking two men and two women, the USA and China each picked their male swimmers in the first two rounds.

Murphy put the US ahead in the backstroke, China’s Qin Haiyang edged past Nic Fink in the breaststroke, but Walsh put the Americans back in front in the butterfly before Huske held off Yang Junxuan to secure the gold.

The Chinese team, which also included Xu Jiayu and Zhang Yufei, took silver in 3:37.55. Bronze went to Australia in 3:38.76.

Marchand swam the breaststroke for France but failed to add to his already impressive haul of four individual golds. The French finished fourth, more than two seconds behind the Australians.

When the British won gold in 2021, the Americans finished fifth. Great Britain finished seventh this time.

The U.S. increased its total to six golds, one behind leader Australia with four events remaining on Sunday. The Americans are assured of winning the overall medal tally with 25.

HUNGARIAN VICTORIES

Kristof Milak of Hungary won the men’s 100-meter butterfly, trailing three swimmers in the return lap.

Milak was only fourth at the turn, but he recovered to touch down in 49.90. Canada took silver and bronze, with Josh Liendo finishing in 49.99 and Ilya Kharun next in 50.45.

Milak failed to defend his Olympic title in the 200m butterfly, taking silver behind French star Marchand.

Milak won silver in the 100m butterfly three years ago, but he didn’t have to worry about the man who beat him in that race. American Caeleb Dressel surprisingly failed to qualify for the final, recording only the 13th fastest time in the semifinals on Friday.

Kharun added another bronze to the one he won in the 200-meter butterfly.