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American swimmer Katie Ledecky won her first gold medal of the 2024 Paris Olympics, setting a new Olympic record of 15:30.02 in the 1500-meter freestyle final on Wednesday (July 31) and tying for the most gold and overall Olympic medals of any female athlete in American history.
Ledecky tied fellow Jenny Thompson in both career gold medals (8) and total medals won (12) in Olympic play with her record-setting victory. The 27-year-old now owns the 20 fastest times in the history of the women's 1500-meter freestyle, with her newest Olympic record-setting time only ranking eighth all-time.
Ledecky finished a full 10 seconds ahead of her competition with France's Anastasiia Kirpichnikova placing second at 15:40.35 and Germany's Isabel Gose finishing third at 15:41.16.
Ledecky had previously won bronze in the 400-meter freestyle during the opening night of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Saturday (July 27). iHeartMedia is providing 24/7 coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics broadcasting live on NBC Olympics Radio Plus and play-by-play action during live premium events on NBC Olympics Radio.
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