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NANTERRE, France — Legendary American swimmer Katie Ledecky has done it yet again, winning Olympic gold in a grueling 800-meter freestyle final by holding off star Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus, who took silver.
"We were all hurting after that one," Ledecky said after the race. "I knew it was going to be tough and it definitely played out that way."
It was Ledecky's second gold medal in these Games, after she dominated the women's 1,500-meter finals.
Titmus, who has also won two gold medals in Paris, described it as an honor to race Ledecky.
"I gave it my best shot," Titmus said
Ledecky has owned this event, winning the Olympic finals at the 800-meter distance four times in a row, dating back to London in 2012.
"I was eleven years old when she won her gold [in the 800 meter freestyle] in London," Titmus said. "To go four in a row is unreal."
U.S. swimmer Paige Madden fought her way into third place to claim bronze.
It was a gritty, relentless performance by Ledecky, who has now won two gold, a silver and a bronze in the Paris Games.
During this race, Titmus pulled within a couple of strokes of Ledecky, but each time the American did not give up and powered through. In the end, Ledecky finished more than a second ahead of the Australian with a time of 8:11.04.
"I'm happy that she was the one to beat me to keep her streak alive because that's just remarkable," Titmus said.
In all, Ledecky has now won 14 Olympic medals, nine of them gold. She is the most decorated U.S. woman athlete to compete in the Olympics.
Ledecky's win came just moments before a relay team of American men and women seized gold in the 4 by 100 medley finals, narrowly beating a strong Chinese team and setting a new world record.
Another American swimming star of these Paris Olympics, Kate Douglass, captured silver in the women's 200 meter individual medley. Medley races combine freestyle, back, breast and butterfly.
Douglass fell in the final stretch to Canadian powerhouse Summer McIntosh, who set a new Olympic record in the event and captured her fourth medal of the Paris Games, three of them gold.
Tonight's haul of medals was a rebound for the U.S. after days of near-misses where athletes from other countries have fought to the wall first. Team USA now has six swimming medals. In a typical Summer Olympics, the U.S. claims at least ten.
Copyright 2024 NPR
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