NANTERRE, France — Katie Ledecky won gold in the 1,500-meter freestyle on Wednesday, securing her 12th career medal to tie Jenny Thompson, Dara Torres and Natalie Coughlin for the most ever by an American woman.
The runaway win also brought Ledecky her eighth career gold medal, tying Thompson’s record for the most by a U.S. female in Olympic history.
Contemporary Australian great Emma McKeon also has 12 medals — six gold, two silvers and four bronze — as all five now sit atop the list for most podium appearances by a female swimmer.
Thompson picked up her hardware in Athens (2004), Sydney (2000), Atlanta (1996) and Barcelona (1992) while the 27-year-old Ledecky is here in France following medals in Tokyo, Rio (2016) and London (2012).
Coughlin’s three golds, four silvers and five bronzes were won in Athens, Beijing (2008) and London (2012).
Torres has four of each medal, winning them in Los Angeles (1984), Seoul (1988), Barcelona, Sydney and Beijing.
The Bethesda, Maryland native Ledecky could still have medal hopes in 4×200 free relay on Thursday and the 800m freestyle on Friday at Paris La Défense Arena.
Ledecky won the first bronze of her career on Saturday, finishing third in the 400m freestyle to gold medalist Ariarne Titmus of Australia and runner-up Summer McIntosh of Canada.
McKeon got her 12th overall medal on Saturday as a member of Australia’s golden 4×100 free relay team.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
