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)

Ben Gay, a former NFL running back who played one season with the Cleveland Browns, died late last month in a car crash in Colorado. He was 44.

Gay died on July 29 in the crash, according to Nirfino. The Associated Press, Akron Beacon-Journal and Houston Chronicle all reported Gay’s death.

“Rest easy the original Spring legend… Ben Gay!! I haven’t seen him since high school but we attended middle/high school together,” one Facebook user wrote on the former football player. “High school memory! Ben was a beast in the 90’s. He’s at the end…. he left them boys!”

Gay was a standout running back at Garden City Community College in Kansas after he was removed from the Baylor program over team violations.

He played in a preseason game for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League before the Browns took a chance on him.

DOLPHINS’ TYREEK HILL AGREES TO THREE-YEAR, $90 MILLION RESTRUCTURED DEAL

Ben Gay runs against the Jacksonville Jaguars at the Browns Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. (Tom Pidgeon /Getty Images)

He appeared in all 16 games for Cleveland during the 2001 season when the Browns went 7-9 and finished third in the AFC North division. He rushed for 172 yards on 51 carries and scored one touchdown.

Cleveland waived Gay the following offseason. He signed with the Indianapolis Colts but failed to make their 53-man roster, according to the Beacon-Journal.

Running back Ben Gay of the Cleveland Browns carries the ball versus the Jaguars at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. (Andy Lyons/Allsport)

Gay is survived by his wife and three children, according to the Houston Chronicle.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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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.”