Katie Ledecky wins 9th gold medal, most by American female Olympian in history

NANTERRE, France — Katie Ledecky cannot be stopped.

Ledecky won her ninth gold and 14th overall medal Saturday, taking the 800-meter freestyle and concluding her fourth Olympic Games in style.

She became the most decorated female Olympic swimmer of all time Thursday when she won silver as part of the U.S. 4×200 freestyle relay team for her 13th career medal.

But that wasn’t enough for Ledecky, who defended her three-time title in the 800 free.

Her nine gold medals is the most ever for a female swimmer and the most for an American female athlete across all sports. It ties her with Larisa Latynina, a Soviet gymnast who won nine golds in the 1950s and 1960s, of any woman in Olympic history.

Ledecky has always insisted she doesn’t give much thought to her place in the history books. More importantly, she said, she’s having a good time.

“I hope that I’ll look back on it with the same amount of joy and happiness that I feel right now and that I feel every day,” Ledecky told reporters at Paris La Défense Arena.

Ledecky swam Saturday’s 800-meter with a time of 8:11.04, the 13th-fastest recorded time, preceded and followed by Ledecky’s own performances.

Ledecky threw her head back into the water moments after touching the wall, later revealing that she was just happy to be done.

“It was kind of just a feeling of relief,” she said. “Coming into the 800, I just felt a lot of pressure from myself, just from my history in the race, and I knew going into that it was going to be really tough race … and it played out that way.”

Silver medalist Ariarne Titmus fondly recalled being an 11-year-old in the sixth grade, watching Ledecky win gold in London.

“It’s such an honor to race alongside someone like Katie,” Titmus said. “That’s remarkable to me to think that she’s still winning at this level, and I have the most incredible respect for her.”

Titmus’ silver-medal-winning time of 8:12.29 was a national best. Paige Madden of Mobile, Alabama, took bronze.

“I’m happy that she was the one to beat me to keep her streak alive because that’s just remarkable,” said Titmus, 23.

Ledecky has the 17 fastest 800 freestyle times in history — and 19 of the top 20, as well as 24 of the top 25.

That number was as high as 29 before Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh defeated Ledecky in February, handing Ledecky her first loss in an 800-meter freestyle final since 2010.

McIntosh, who has the 18th-fastest time in history at 8:11.39, did not swim the 800 in Paris.

Ledecky will leave France with two golds, a silver and her first bronze.

She was victorious in the grueling 1,500 freestyle, took silver in the 4×200 freestyle relay and bronze in the 400 freestyle.

Ledecky previously collected hardware in London, Rio and Tokyo. She doesn’t have plans to slow down, and the Bethesda, Maryland, native hopes to compete in Los Angeles in 2028.

David K. Li reported from Nanterre and Raquel Coronell Uribe from Washington, D.C.