PARIS, France — Katie Ledecky swam far ahead of the competition on Wednesday to claim her first gold medal of the Paris Summer Games with one of her best events.
Ledecky finished 10 seconds ahead of the silver medalist and beat her own Olympic record.
Before Wednesday’s 1,500-meter freestyle victory, Ledecky’s only medal in Paris had been a bronze in the 400 freestyle.
The win brings her up to 12 total medals, matching the women’s swimming all-time record.
It also gives Ledecky her eighth gold medal, which moves her into a tie with Jenny Thompson for the most gold medals won by any American woman. If Ledecky can win one more gold in Paris, that record would be hers alone.
Ledecky was heavily favored heading into the race as she already had the top 20 fastest times in the world for the 1,500-meter freestyle.
Ledecky led right from the start and steadily pulled away, touching in an Olympic-record 15 minutes, 30.02 seconds in an event that joined the women's program at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
This was similar to the race three years ago: Ledecky far in front and everyone else racing for a silver.
France's Anastasiia Kirpichinikova finished nearly a half lap behind but thrilled the home fans by claiming the silver in 15:40.35.
The bronze went to Germany's Isabel Gose at 15:41.16.
She was clearly thrilled to be on top again, splashing the water and pumping her fist several times walking across the deck — a rare show of emotion for a stoic athlete who performs with machine-like efficiency.