Katie Ledecky Ties Women’s Swimming World Record for Total Medals at Paris Olympics

The 27-year-old continued her domination of the 1,500-meter freestyle race, becoming just the seventh athlete to win gold in four different Games.

Ledecky continued her domination of the 1,500-meter freestyle race in Paris. / Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated

PARIS — Katie Ledecky has already clearly established herself as the greatest female American swimmer in history. On a raucous Wednesday night in La Défense Arena, she kept building her case for even bigger accolades—the greatest American female Olympian in any sport, and perhaps even the greatest female Olympian, period.

Ledecky continued her untouchable streak of domination in the 1,500-meter freestyle, winning by 10.33 seconds over silver medalist Anastasiya Kirpichnikova of France and 11.14 seconds over bronze medalist Isabel Gose of Germany, in a time of 15:30.02. In typical fashion, Ledecky quickly put daylight between herself and the competition and kept building on it throughout the 30-lap race. Between Ledecky’s performance and the ambitious, two-event night for French hero Léon Marchand, the packed house was roaring all night.

Ledecky’s time was an Olympic record and her eighth-fastest 1,500 of all-time. She now owns the top 20 marks in history. This was the eighth gold of her career, with two events left to swim at these Summer Games. In historical terms, she continues to put distance between herself and the vast majority of Olympians.

Ledecky is now just the seventh athlete to win gold in four different Olympics, and just the second swimmer (Michael Phelps is the other). The only other woman to do it was Japanese wrestler Kaori Icho from 2004–16.

Eight golds moves Ledecky into a tie for second in Olympic history among females, in any sport. The all-time leader is Russian gymnast Larisa Latynina with nine, which means Ledecky will have opportunities to tie or pass her in Paris—the 800 freestyle relay is Thursday and the individual 800 is on Sunday, the final day of swimming here. (The individual event figures to be a better chance to win gold than the relay, in which the Australians are solidly favored.)

The eight gold medals ties Ledecky with fellow American swimmer Jenny Thompson, but hers all came in relay events. Seven of Ledecky’s eight are individual golds, which ties her with Czechoslovakian gymnast Vera Caslavska for most by a female, and third most by either gender.

In total medal terms, Ledecky now has 12 (eight gold, three silver, one bronze) to tie with fellow American swimmers Thompson, Dara Torres and Natalie Coughlin. It would be shocking if she didn’t move past them during these Games.

Ledecky now has 12 total medals—eight gold, three silver and one bronze—and an opportunity to win more in Paris. / Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated

(If the Olympics had adopted the 1,500 for women before 2021 in Tokyo, Ledecky likely already would have two more gold medals, which would have established her alone in that realm.)

Who lies ahead of her on the all-time medal list, Winter or Summer Games: Latynina with 18 (nine gold, five silver, four bronze); Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjorgen with 15 (eight gold, four silver, three bronze); and Dutch speed skater Ireen Wust with 13 (six gold, five silver, two bronze).

Presuming Ledecky gets to 14 total medals here, the question is whether she would be able to add still more in 2028 in Los Angeles. She would be 31 then, competing in her fifth Olympics, but she has stated a desire to swim in L.A. and compete in one Games in her home country.

Despite the workload required to remain on top of her sport, there is no sign that Ledecky is growing tired of the grind. If anything, it’s the opposite. She loves it now more than ever.

“I can tell you, she wants to swim forever,” says her coach at Gator Swim Club, Anthony Nesty. “Because she enjoys it so much.”