Katie Ledecky obliterated the field and her own world record in winning the 800m freestyle at the Rio Olympics on Friday, August 12, uniting the 200m, 400m and 800m titles for the first time since 1968.
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The next closest competitor to Ledecky in Thursday’s prelims was Hungary’s Boglarka Kapas, who was 6.57 seconds behind, followed by British swimmer Jazz Carlin at 6.81 seconds behind.
Maya DiRado of the United States denied Katinka Hosszu’s bid to become a four-time gold medalist.
Ledecky, the defending champion in the event that first put her on the worldwide radar, recorded a winning time of 8:04.79, breaking her own record set in January by 1.89 seconds.
Her 400 split of 4:01.98 would have won the bronze in the 400 final last Sunday.
Just how fast was Ledecky’s swim?
Ledecky is the defending Olympic champion in the event, according to NBC.
“As the flag was being raised I could see my family right under the flag … the emotions just hit me and I had to let it all out”, Ledecky said on Saturday during an interview on Today.
“We’ve had a great first few days and we are looking to build on that”, she said.
Ledecky is the first Olympian to take the 200m, 400m and 800m gold at a single Games since another United States teenager, Debbie Meyer, achieved the feat at Mexico City in 1968 – the year the 800m was added to the programme. Hosszu settled for silver in 2:06.05, while Canada’s Hilary Caldwell took the bronze in 2:07.54.
Other medal events include both men’s and women’s rowing, men’s and women’s shooting, men’s boxing, men’s tennis and both men’s and women’s judo, among others.
Meanwhile, Joseph Schooling of Singapore shocked the field by winning gold in Olympic-record time (50.39 seconds).
Hosszu got off to a blistering start and led nearly the entire race.
Ledecky dominated once again to win her fourth gold medal.
Ervin won his first gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, tying teammate Gary Hall Jr. for the top spot. “There’s no better therapist than your mom, so getting that and just kind of resetting and knowing that I still have three more days to go, and I still have a lot left to give, and I’m going to give it my all”. She also has the 4×200 relay gold and a 4×100 silver.
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By midway through the race, Ledecky was well ahead of the world-record pace. The all-time record is five, set by Krisztina Egerszegi of Hungary.
