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 fashion.
French torpedo Leon Marchand stands out as the prince of Paris, electrifying the house nation with 4 spectacular gold medals, however it’s Ledecky writing her identify within the document 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 the complete 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 obtained to the wall first in a time of 8 minutes, 11.04 seconds.
Paige Madden took bronze for the US.
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 completely different Olympics.
The 800-metre was the ultimate occasion on Ledecky’s Paris card and she or he returns residence having added two golds, a silver and a bronze, bringing her Olympic stockpile to 14 medals in all – with extra doable. The 27-year-old has hinted {that a} residence Olympics in Los Angeles in 4 years is on her thoughts.
And in a passing of the baton second, Canada’s Summer time McIntosh enhanced her standing because the rising star of girls’s swimming by successful her third gold medal of the video games within the 200-metre particular person medley.
The 17-year-old produced a superb 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 pleased 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 ready to do that simply due to all of the arduous 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 arduous for me to be right here in the present day,” 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 exciting males’s 100-metre butterfly remaining, 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 remaining race of the night time within the pool, the US broke the world document in successful the 4×100-metre combined medley relay gold, outgunning China and Australia.
Their staff 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’s only the second world document within the pool in Paris after China’s Pan Zhanle smashed the boys’s 100-metre freestyle greatest.
Groups within the combined 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 US 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 residence with China’s Yang Junxuan and Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan in sizzling pursuit.
