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Katie Ledecky Wins 21st World Swimming Championships Medal, Breaks Female Record

The 25-year-old won her historic medal as a part of the 800-meter freestyle relay.

Zach Koons

Katie Ledecky Wins 21st World Swimming Championships Medal, Breaks Female Record
Katie Ledecky Wins 21st World Swimming Championships Medal, Breaks Female Record /

Katie Ledecky became the most decorated woman in world swimming championships history Wednesday, marking just the latest accomplishment in her unparalleled career.

Ledecky earned her 21st career world swimming championships medal Wednesday in Budapest, a gold as a member of the 800-meter freestyle relay. Ledecky clocked the second-fastest split in history–a 1:53.67–and the best of her career to lead the team comprised of Olympian Leah Smith and teenagers Bella Sims and Claire Weinstein to victory over Australia and Canada.

Ledecky swam the third leg of the relay and dove into the pool in third place, over a second behind the Australians and Canadians. However, by the 100-meter mark, the 25-year-old had pulled back even with the leaders, setting herself up to separate in the back half of the swim. 

The 17-year-old Sims took the lead that Ledecky gave her and extended it on the anchor leg of the relay, finishing off a new championship record (7:41.45) by the American team.

The victory gave Team USA its 11th gold medal and 26th overall medal of the meet.

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With her latest world title, Ledecky broke her tie with former Olympian Natalie Coughlin for the most medals in world championships history for a woman. Two men, Michael Phelps (33) and Ryan Lochte (27) have more overall medals, but Ledecky is now tied with Lochte for the second-most world championship gold medals (18).

The relay continued a stellar meet for Ledecky, who already defended her titles in the 400-meter and 1500-meter freestyles. She’s expected to win a fourth gold in the 800-meter freestyle, which will take place on Friday.

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Zach Koons
ZACH KOONS

Zach Koons is a programming editor at Sports Illustrated who frequently writes about Formula One. He joined SI as a breaking/trending news writer in February 2022 before joining the programming team in 2023. Koons previously worked at The Spun and interned for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He currently hosts the "Bleav in Northwestern" podcast and received a bachelor's in journalism from Northwestern University.

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