Katie Ledecky of the United States finally succumbed to her emotions on the podium after destroying the field in the 800 meters freestyle on Friday and smashing her own world record to complete a rare Olympic swimming treble. She went on to win, adding another gold to match the medals she won in the 200- and 400-meter freestyle.
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Carlin knows silver was the best she could ever get against Ledecky, who also beat her in the 400m and whose 800m time of eight minutes 4.79 seconds nearly knocked two seconds off her own world record.
Then she waited for the rest of the field to finish.
I just wanted to push myself and see what I could do.
The 25-year-old won silver in the 400m freestyle earlier in the week and followed that victory with a stunning final 100m to clinch another silver on Friday. And with silver in the 4×100 free relay and gold in the 4×200 relay, she was well on her way to making Olympic history.
“The goal was 8:05 or better [in the 800 meter freestyle] so I hit all my goals right on the nose this week and I think that’s just a testament to the vision that Bruce Gemmell and I had three years ago”, Ledecky. “That really meant a lot to me”.
And Ledecky, who is still an amateur rather than a professional, is aware that her life will change as she begins her university career and changes coach.
“I’m so proud to be part of history”, Ledecky said, revealing that Meyer, a big fan, had been texting her mother, Mary Gen, during the week.
Thursday night, Ledecky also became the third American woman to win four gold medals at a single Olympics; Ledecky now stands with Missy Franklin (2012; four golds and a bronze) and Amy Van Dyken (1996, four golds). I’m just going to have some time away from the pool’. The bronze went to Canada’s Hilary Caldwell.
Halsall won her semi-final in 24.41 seconds but ended up as the fourth fastest qualifier as Denmark’s Pernille Blume won the second semi ahead of Australia’s Cate Campbell and Ranomi Kromowidjojo of the Netherlands. Even Ledecky took a turn behind the wheel, even though she still has just a learner’s permit.
She now holds the 13 best times over the distance, and is the first teenager ever to defend an Olympic swimming title. DiRado finished in 2:05.99, edging Hosszu (2:06.05) by mere hundredths of a second. Hosszu settled for silver, denied in her bid for a fourth gold in Rio.
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“It’s surreal, kind of absurd and, you know, when I touched, turned around and saw the one next to my name, I kind of smiled and laughed”, Ervin said.
