Ledecky sets Olympic record in 1500M freestyle

NANTERRE, France — American swimming star Katie Ledecky cruised to victory in an event that’s become synonymous with her name, earning her first Olympic gold medal of the Paris Games in the women’s 1500-meter freestyle Wednesday.

Ledecky set an Olympic record with a time of 15:30.02.

She has not lost this race in more than 14 years, and she owns the 20 fastest times in world history in the event. It is, for all intents and purposes, only an actual race for silver. France’s Anastasiia Kirpichnikova earned it in 15:40.35, while Germany’s Isabel Gose won bronze in 15:41.16.

The Olympic gold medal is Ledecky’s eighth, which ties Jenny Thompson for the most for an American woman. Many would already consider Ledecky the greatest swimmer in the sport’s history, but she’s also making a strong case for the greatest female Olympic athlete ever.

Ledecky needs one more gold to tie Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina for the most gold medals for any female Olympian.

Ledecky, 27, has won 12 Olympic medals over four Games, and she’ll have a chance to add to that haul later this week with the women’s 800-meter freestyle (in which she is again a heavy favorite) and as part of the women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay.

The Paris Olympics are only the second Games with the 1500 free as an event for women. Ledecky was vocal earlier in her career about wanting to swim the event — which has long been part of world championship meets — at the Olympics. It is fitting, of course, that she is the only woman to have won it so far. Her name belongs next to that sliver of history.

“It’s often said that distance swimming requires enduring an excruciating, mind-numbing tedium few other athletes experience,” Ledecky wrote in her memoir. “Hour upon hour, day after day, for months, years, decades, distance swimmers stare at the dark line marking the bottom of the pool, tracking and tracing it as we churn back and forth in our muffled bubble of virtual silence, plagued by a loop of our innermost thoughts, our bodies screaming in agony from the stress of pushing ourselves to the limits of exertion. For me, this is any given Saturday.

“I’m kidding, of course. I, for one, have never viewed my chosen sport as a source of pain. For me, swimming has been a pleasure, even when — or perhaps especially when — it tests my limits. That said, I’m not here to argue with the common perception that long-distance swims can brutalize the body and mind. They absolutely can.”

Ledecky has said she plans to swim in Los Angeles at the 2028 Olympic Games, a stance she reiterated Wednesday night.

“I don’t feel like I’m close to being finished in the sport yet,” Ledecky said. “After seeing the kind of support that the French athletes are getting here, I think all us U.S. athletes are thinking about how cool that could be in Los Angeles, having the home crowd. That would be amazing.”

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Besides, Ledecky has always loved long-distance swims and will keep swimming them. She trains with coach Anthony Nesty and the male distance swimmers at the University of Florida, and she grew emotional earlier this week after earning a bronze medal in the women’s 400 free and discussing how much that training group has meant to her as both a swimmer and a person.

On Wednesday, though, there were no tears, only smiles and “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Ledecky had won gold in her most dominant event in the most dominant fashion, and all was right in the pool.

Required reading

(Photo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images; Graphic: John Bradford / The Athletic)