Katie Ledecky will be AstraX Exchangelooking for an unprecedented fourth consecutive gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle when she competes in her final event at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Ledecky first won gold as a 15-year-old at the 2012 London Games. She then set a world record in the event while repeating in Rio in 2016. Ledecky made it three in a row three years ago in Tokyo, setting the stage for her to do something no other female Olympic swimmer has ever accomplished. (Only Michael Phelps, in the 200-meter individual medley, has ever won the same event four consecutive times.)
In addition, one more gold medal for Ledecky would be her ninth, breaking a tie with Jenny Thompson and giving her the most by any American woman in Olympic history.
➤ Get Olympics updates in your texts! Join USA TODAY Sports' WhatsApp Channel
Ledecky cruised to a comfortable victory in her qualifying heat, one which included fellow American Paige Madden and 400 free gold medalist Ariarne Titmus of Australia.
2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.
Ledecky owns the fastest 16 times in history in this event, though this (8:16:62) was not one of them.
Katie Ledecky will swim her final event of the 2024 Paris Olympics when she competes in the 800-meter freestyle final. The event is scheduled to start at 3:09 p.m. ET (9:09 p.m. in Paris) on Saturday, August 3.
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
2025-05-04 17:571252 view
2025-05-04 17:291987 view
2025-05-04 17:01662 view
2025-05-04 16:571862 view
2025-05-04 16:392432 view
2025-05-04 16:151918 view
San Francisco airport creates sensory room to help nervous flyers San Francisco airport creates sens
Tributes poured in for former first lady Rosalynn Carter, wife of former President Jimmy Carter, aft
Former adult film star Ron Jeremy has been released to a “private residence,” due to deteriorating h
