NANTERRE, France — Katie Ledecky is rewriting the history books. Again.

On Saturday night, she took gold in the women’s 800-meter freestyle, her fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal in the event. It marks the first time a woman ever won four gold medals in the same event and also brought Ledecky’s career total up to nine Olympic gold medals, which ties Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina for the most all-time by a female Olympian.

Ledecky logged a time of 8:11.04 to clinch her latest gold. Australian Ariarne Titmus (8:12.29) and American Paige Madden (8:13.00) took silver and bronze, respectively.

Ledecky was the heavy favorite in the 800 free, just as she was earlier in the week in the 1500-meter freestyle. The 27-year-old is less dominant in shorter distances, but she remains the world’s greatest distance swimmer.

Coming into Saturday night’s race, Ledecky already owned 29 of the 30 fastest times in world history in the women’s 800 free. And she continues to relish them.

Earlier this week, she reiterated her interest in swimming at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, when she’ll be 31 years old. She loves the training, and she loves the heaviness of the workload.

“To thrive in distance swims, you have to train yourself to focus on nothing, or on something constructive, otherwise your brain will default to a self-preservation cycle of registering that your body hurts — signaling you to stop doing whatever it is that is hurting your body and sending messages to all corners of your mind to quit swimming already! In short, if you can’t harness your thoughts, you become your own worst enemy in the pool,” Ledecky wrote in her memoir.

“Repetition challenges your mental and physical game, and swimming is repetition to the nth degree. But for whatever reason — genetics, luck, stellar coaching, a particular physiology — I’ve been able to embrace the good and tolerate the rest.”

GOAT ACTIVITY. 🇺🇸👑

KATIE LEDECKY WINS HER NINTH GOLD MEDAL! #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/R6ZGqFyfG9

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 3, 2024

Ledecky is famously quiet, shy and reserved. The most emotional anyone ever sees her in the pool is after races like Saturday’s. These distances mean a great deal to her, and she means a great deal to their history.

Saturday’s final was Ledecky’s last race of these Paris Games. She heads home with two gold medals, one silver and one bronze. She has now won 14 total Olympic medals across four Games.

Her nine Olympic gold medals are tied for second-most for an American athlete with swimmer Mark Spitz and track and field athlete Carl Lewis. Michael Phelps holds the record for the most Olympic gold medals for an American athlete with 23.

Required reading

(Photo: Adam Pretty / Getty Images)

Cornerback Tre’Davious White did not need much convincing that the Rams were the right team to sign with last spring.

Former Buffalo Bills teammates Von Miller, Taylor Rapp and Leonard Floyd and former Louisiana State teammate Odell Beckham Jr. sung the praises of Rams coach Sean McVay.

But White, a seven-year veteran recovering from Achilles surgery, still needed to speak with the Rams medical staff and McVay personally.

So when he visited the Rams and sat down with McVay in March, he anticipated a short meet-and-greet conversation.

“We look up — and it’s three hours later,” White said, laughing. “That just threw off my whole schedule for the whole visit.

“But it was worth it, man. It’s the time that we had together that just gave me all the clarity I needed that this was the place that would be best for me.”

White, 29, signed a one-year contract that includes $3.25 million in guarantees, according to Overthecap.com. The value increases to $8.5 million if White plays 60% of the defensive snaps, and could max out at $10 million.

White said in April that former Rams running back Cam Akers’ successful return from Achilles surgery influenced his decision to join the Rams. So did the fact that Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the Rams’ team physician who performed Akers’ surgery, had also done White’s surgery after he was injured while playing for the Bills last October.

White and the Rams agreed that he should take all the time necessary before easing into full workouts.

He worked mainly with trainers on the sideline during organized-team activities. But during training camp, White has been a near full participant.

“I want to push the gas pedal to see where I’m at,” White said after a practice at Loyola Marymount. “If it’s not where I need it to be, I can go back to the drawing board and go back to building myself back up.”

White, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, is one of several new players in a remodeled secondary.

Cornerback Darious Williams, who helped the Rams win Super Bowl LVI before playing two seasons for the Jacksonville Jaguars, will start opposite White. Williams is nursing a hamstring injury but is expected to be ready for the Sept. 8 opener at Detroit.

The Rams also recently signed cornerback Jerry Jacobs to replace Derion Kendrick, a rotational player who suffered a season-ending knee injury during the first training camp workout.

Third-year pro Cobie Durant, second-year pro Tre Tomlinson and undrafted free agents Josh Wallace and Charles Woods are other cornerbacks in a secondary that also includes new safety Kamren Curl, veterans Quentin Lake, John Johnson III and Russ Yeast, rookie Kamren Kinchens and second-year pro Jason Taylor II.

White has intercepted 18 passes, including a career-best six in 2019 when he was voted All-Pro.

The favorable recommendations White received from former Rams players who played for the Bills were exceeded only by the glowing reports the players gave the Rams about White.

“The NFL is a small fraternity,” new defensive coordinator Chris Shula said, “and when all of those people say those things about him, usually that’s the way it turns out, and it has.”

Said McVay: “This is a guy that’s passionate about a lot of the things we’re passionate about. … He had a lot of options, a lot of teams that saw what we did — and he’s getting more and more comfortable.”

The sage White made an impact from the moment he arrived, defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant said.

“If Tre’Davious White never took one snap for this organization, he’s already improved the L.A. Rams because of his attention to detail, his professionalism, his work ethic, his practice habits and the empathy he has for his teammates,” Pleasant said. “It’s not only his communication when he plays — it’s how hard he works.”

Durant wasted no time seeking the benefit of White’s counsel.

In position-group meetings during offseason workouts, Durant sat in the seat in front of White. Durant constantly leaned back to ask White what he saw on film, and how he would handle different situations.

“Just certain little things to add to my bag to apply on the field,” Durant said. “And it’s been working.”

Receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua said they are benefiting from Williams’ and White’s experience and feedback.

White’s intelligence, and his ability to recognize alignments and motions before the snap makes him a tough matchup, Nacua said.

“I know my strengths and they don’t really work against him because he’s thinking [about] the mental game before I ever get to be a physical player with him,” Nacua said. “So, it’s been super fun because now I get to work on some of the different tools that me and Coop are working on.”

White said he would continue to push himself to play at full speed, whenever that might be.

“Just to be out here practicing is a blessing for me,” he said. “Just to stretch with the team is a blessing for me. So it’s been great.

“I’ve got a ways to go, for sure, but so far, so good.”

PARIS — Aptly, he tucked an American flag into the back of his sweatshirt collar, turning the stars and stripes into a cape. Stephen Nedoroscik is, after all, America’s new favorite superhero.

A star crafted straight out of the Olympic script, Nedoroscik stars on a piece of equipment that the average sports fan has no earthly idea how to determine a good routine from a bad one. He wears glasses because of a congenital eye disease that renders his eyes permanently dilated, solves Rubik’s Cubes for relaxation, eats exactly six pieces of green apple and a chocolate muffin on competition days, and laughs like something straight out of “Beavis and Butt-Head.”

When he sat down at the dais for his news conference after securing a second bronze medal, Nedoroscik took the index finger of his right hand and pushed his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose. The only thing missing from central casting — a piece of tape to hold them together.

But when Nedoroscik swings on the pommel horse, flying through a routine that is obviously complex enough that even the gymnastics novices would know that it’s good, he is Clark Kent post phone booth, his glasses shed and his entire being transformed.

Stephen Nedoroscik finishes his pommel horse routine in the final and the crowd goes WILD! 👏 #ParisOlympics

📺 E! and Peacock pic.twitter.com/JbCPmqNJA7

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— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 3, 2024

Six nights ago, Nedoroscik nailed his routine — the very last of the night — to assure the United States its first team medal in men’s gymnastics in 16 years. On Monday, he spent the evening screaming for his teammates, cupping his mouth with his hands to make sure his support was heard. But on Saturday night, Nedoroscik sat at the end of the competition area alone. His head cast downward, staring at the floor, he didn’t so much as glance over as the first four gymnasts performed, let alone glance at the scoreboard.

In a script flip from the team final, Nedoroscik went smack dab in the middle, fifth out of eight gymnasts. He nailed a 15.300, slotting him in third place. Instead of waiting to compete, he had to wait to ensure he got on the podium. When South Korea’s Hur Woong fell off the apparatus, securing the bronze, Nedoroscik thrust his hands into the air, to the delight of the crowd.

“It’s definitely not the best scenario to be in, when there’s a few more gymnasts to go and you’re sitting in third,’’ Nedoroscik said. “It’s a little bit of a nail-biter, but I was confident that my score was maybe good enough to hold.’’

It is that confidence that maybe has been unappreciated in this whole nerd-to-champion run. Nedoroscik did not happen onto the Olympic stage accidentally. He is a 2021 World Champion and a two-time NCAA Champion. He was intentionally put on the U.S. squad to ensure a better team score. Men’s gymnastics purposefully opted away from the more subjective selection process that the women used, opting instead to run the numbers and see what spits out the best score. In every scenario, adding Nedoroscik made sense.

But let’s be serious. No one cares about any of that. The joy of the Olympics comes as much from the unexpected as the impressive. Simone Biles, who secured her seventh gold medal just a few minutes before Nedoroscik competed, is inevitable. Nedoroscik is Everyman, relatable thanks to his ordinariness outside of his pommel horse extraordinariness. He is not someone that you would stop and stare at if he were to walk down the street; he does not scream Olympic athlete.

And so when he of all people became an Olympic hero, he walked straight into the vortex of American fame, an underdog turned into a champion, winning one for the U.S. of A. Nedoroscik exploded as only one can in today’s social media world. His is now a face that launched a thousand memes, plenty Nedoroscik has seen himself. An eyewear company, eyebobs, cleverly launched a marketing campaign around his specs, renaming — or reframing as it were — one of their designs into “the Stephen.’’ At 11:16 a.m, ET, the time Nedoroscik was slated to compete, people could try to claim a free pair. The New York Post’s Page Six and US Weekly did a blurb about his girlfriend.

Nedorosock has been both delightfully amused by all of it — “Really? She was? I didn’t know that,’’ Nedoroscik said about the insta-fame of Tess McCracken, his girlfriend. “Go Tess,’’ — and delightfully amusing. Asked who was the most famous person to reach out to him on social media, Nedoroscik said, “The guy that wrote “Fault in Our Stars” tweeted about me. That was insane.’’ That would be John Green, author of the melodrama about two terminally ill teenagers.

But he also knew that, despite what people said about him after the team final, he did not just have one job to do; he had two. He wanted an event final medal as well, and the competition, he knew would be fierce. Rhys McClenaghan, who would win the gold for Ireland, is a two-time World Champion; Max Whitlock, from Great Britain, won the last two Olympic medals on pommel horse, and the gap between first and sixth in qualifying was as measly .200.

So after enjoying his 15 minutes of fame for a handful of days, Nedoroscik purposefully turned off his notifications. He wanted to quiet the noise. Nedoroscik owns an electrical engineering degree from Penn State and his coach, Randy Jespon, told The Athletic that he’s extremely analytical. He likes routine, and so in an Olympic village devoid of his teammates, who already finished competing, he hunkered down. He tinkered with his Rubik’s Cube, trying to beat his under-10-second goal. He listened to music. He ate his apples and his muffin.

Nedoroscik tinkered with changing his routine, maybe adding difficulty in response to the talented field. He tried a few alternatives, but didn’t like how they felt, and as he said after the team final, his routine is “all by feel.’’

So he went with what felt right.

There is no arguing that Nedoroscik would have loved a gold; the U.S. hasn’t won one in an individual event since 1984. But when the moderator at the post-meet news conference introduced McClenaghan explaining that it was Ireland’s first Olympic medal in gymnastics, the true to his nature Nedoroscik raised his eyebrows. “Dude, that is soooo cool,’’ he said, reaching over to give the Irishman a bro handshake.

The two exchange challenges, each referencing Los Angeles. Later Nedoroscik confirmed his future plans with no hesitation. “I’m definitely running it back in 2028,’’ he said. But that is for another day.

In the immediate, Nedoroscik was looking forward to reconnecting with his family, turning his notifications back on and resting his weary body. Even superheroes, after all, need a break.

Required reading

(Photo: Jamie Squire / Getty Images)