NANTERRE, France — Every year on Aug. 3, Katie Ledecky remembers her first Olympic gold medal.
She was just 15 years old, a reserved high school student who had surprisingly made it onto the U.S. swim team for the London Games. Then she went out and shocked the world by beating everyone in the 800-meter freestyle.
Twelve years later, Ledecky did it again.
It is not a marvel, but it is a work for history.
Gold Medal No. 9.
Ledecky capped another stellar Olympics by becoming just the second swimmer to win an event at four straight Summer Games, edging out Ariarne Titmus, the “Terminator,” 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, marking another milestone.
WINNER AND STILL CHAMPION: KATIE LEDECKY. đŸ’ª
HIS FOURTH CONSECUTIVE GOLD MEDAL IN THE 800-METRE FREESTYLE. #ParisOlympics image.twitter.com/gWQ91NJ1vQ
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 3, 2024
She became the sixth Olympian to reach that milestone, joining swimmer Mark Spitz, track star Carl Lewis, Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina and Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi in a tie for second place.
The only athlete to have won more golds: swimmer Michael Phelps with 23.
Ledecky was well aware of the significance of the date.
“Every August 3rd, the video [of her first Olympic gold] “It gets posted somewhere and you remember something,” he said. “So when I saw it was August 3, I thought, 'Oh, I have to do the work.'”
She did, and went faster than her winning time in Tokyo to finish in 8 minutes, 11.04 seconds. Titmus was right on her shoulder for most of the race, but Ledecky pulled away in the final 100 meters.
Titmus, who beat Ledecky in the 400 freestyle, took silver in 8:12.29. Bronze went to another American, Paige Madden, in 8:13.00.
Phelps had been 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 to Ledecky's consistency over the past dozen years, pointing out where she was when the American won that first gold in London.
“I was in sixth grade in elementary school,” Titmus said. “That's how extraordinary she is.”
Their friendly rivalry has pushed both to greater heights. Each won two golds and four medals at these games, moving Ledecky up to 14th overall and leaving the 23-year-old Australian with four golds and eight medals in her career.
“To think that eight years later I challenged her to compete for the fourth time in a row in the 800m is pretty cool,” Titmus said. “I'm very proud of myself and I feel very honoured and privileged to be her rival, and I hope I've made her a better athlete. She's definitely helped me become the athlete I am. I felt very privileged to be able to compete alongside her.”
Ledecky has dominated the long-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'll take it year after year and see if I can keep giving it my all for as long as I have left.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
