Katie Ledecky becomes most decorated female US Olympian of all time

By CNN Newsource

Published August 1, 2024 2:34 PM

By David Close, CNN

Paris (CNN) — American superstar swimmer Katie Ledecky on Thursday etched her name into the US history books – again.

By winning a silver medal in the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay, Ledecky became the most decorated female US Olympian of all-time with 13 total medals.

Australia won the race with a new Olympic record time of 7:38.08. The US team took silver in a time of 7:40.86, while China secured bronze in 7:42.34.

The result came a day after Ledecky won her first gold of the Paris Games. Ledecky won going away in Wednesday’s 1,500-meter freestyle, her signature race in which she owns the 20 fastest times in history.

Speaking to reporters after Wednesday’s race, Ledecky said she doesn’t get caught up in the history.

“I try not to think about history very much,” she said. “I know those names, those people I’m up with. They’re people I looked up to when I first started swimming. So it’s an honor to be named among them. I’m grateful for them inspiring me. There are so many great swimmers that have helped me get to this moment.”

Ledecky had a disappointing start to the Games with a bronze medal in the 400-meter freestyle, being defeated by rival Ariarne Titmus of Australia in a highly anticipated race.

Ledecky is set to swim again in the 800m freestyle on Saturday.

And, despite this being her fourth Olympics, the 27-year-old Ledecky is eyeing the chance to grow her lead in the history books in four years’ time in Los Angeles.

“Yeah, I’ve been consistent these last few months and these last few years, in saying that I would love to compete in LA, and that hasn’t changed,” she said Wednesday.

“I don’t feel like I’m close to being finished in this sport yet. I’d love to continue on and just seeing the kind of support that the French athletes are getting here, I think all the US athletes are thinking about how cool that could be in Los Angeles, having the home crowd. So, that would be amazing to compete there.”

This story has been updated with more reporting.