Already rated certainly one of swimming’s all-time greats coming into the Paris Olympics, Katie Ledecky made it official by storming to victory in her signature occasion, the 800-metre freestyle, to finish her work within the French capital in nice type.
French torpedo Leon Marchand would be the prince of Paris, electrifying the house nation with 4 spectacular gold medals, however it’s Ledecky writing her identify within the report books after she claimed her ninth gold, equalling Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina for probably the most by any lady in any Olympic sport.
In sharp distinction to Ledecky’s runaway win within the 1,500-metre, the 800-metre freestyle on Saturday was a thriller from begin to end, with Ariarne Titmus matching her stroke-for-stroke for nearly all the distance.
However with the American setting a relentless, grinding tempo, her nice Australian rival would by no means get her nostril in entrance, settling for silver as Ledecky acquired to the wall first in a time of 8 minutes, 11.04 seconds.
Paige Madden took bronze for the USA.
It’s the fourth time Ledecky has gained the 800-metre freestyle and she or he joins compatriot Michael Phelps as the one swimmer to win gold in 4 totally different Olympics.
The 800-metre was the ultimate occasion on Ledecky’s Paris card and she or he returns house having added two golds, a silver and a bronze, bringing her Olympic stockpile to 14 medals in all – with extra potential. The 27-year-old has hinted {that a} house Olympics in Los Angeles in 4 years is on her thoughts.
And in a passing of the baton second, Canada’s Summer season McIntosh enhanced her standing because the rising star of ladies’s swimming by profitable her third gold medal of the video games within the 200-metre particular person medley.
The 17-year-old produced an excellent late surge to win in a time of 2min 06.56sec, the third-fastest time in historical past.
Kate Douglass of the USA completed second to take silver whereas Australian Kaylee McKeown took the bronze after American Alex Walsh, who had completed third, was disqualified.
McIntosh had already claimed gold within the 400-metre particular person medley and the 200-metre butterfly, in addition to a silver within the 400-metre freestyle.
“It’s fairly surreal. I’m simply so happy with myself, how I’ve been capable of get better and handle the occasions as a result of it’s a lot,” stated {the teenager}, who additionally gained silver within the 400-metre freestyle throughout what has been an intense video games for her.
“The rationale I’m in a position to do that simply due to all of the onerous work and dedication I’ve given to this second together with all my household and my teammates and my coaches, and I’ve additionally labored so onerous for me to be right here right now,” she stated.
The Canadian stated she knew that she needed to pull out all of the stops to safe her newest win.
Earlier, Hungarian powerhouse Kristof Milak stormed to a second Olympic gold with victory in an exhilarating males’s 100-metre butterfly closing, whereas including to the silver medal he gained within the 200-metre occasion on the Paris Video games.
Three years after claiming the 200-metre gold at Tokyo, the 24-year-old secured the shorter of the 2 Olympic butterfly titles by touching the wall in 49.90, 0.09 seconds forward of Canadian runner-up Josh Liendo.
Ilya Kharun grabbed a second bronze for Canada, having additionally taken one within the 200-metre butterfly in Paris.
Now boasting 4 Olympic medals, Milak gave Hungary a second gold within the Paris meet following Hubert Kos’s 200-metre backstroke title.
Within the closing race of the evening within the pool, the USA broke the world report in profitable the 4×100-metre blended medley relay gold, outgunning China and Australia.
Their crew of Ryan Murphy, Nic Fink, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske touched in 3min 37.43sec to narrowly higher the mark set by Britain on the Tokyo Video games, when the occasion was first added to the Olympic programme.
China’s Zhang Yufei took silver in 3:37.55, with Australia filling the rostrum in 3:38.76.
It is just the second world report within the pool in Paris after China’s Pan Zhanle smashed the boys’s 100-metre freestyle finest.
Groups within the blended medley comprise two girls and two males, with every of the 4 swimmers allotted to one of many 4 conventional medley strokes – backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle.
The USA selected to guide off with Murphy up towards China’s Xu Jiayu, whereas Australia opted for Kaylee McKeown.
Each Fink and Walsh then swam storming legs earlier than Huske introduced it house with China’s Yang Junxuan and Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan in sizzling pursuit.
