Katie Ledecky knows what it’s like to break world records and rake in gold medals, but now she’s officially No. 1 in Olympic history.
With 13 Olympic medals to her name, Ledecky is now the most decorated U.S. woman athlete in Olympic history.
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The Bethesda, Maryland, native won her 13th Olympic medal as Team USA took second in the 4x200m freestyle relay on Thursday.
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Ledecky's fellow alum of Stone Ridge School in Bethesda, Erin Gemmell, plus Paige Madden and Claire Weinstein rounded out the team. Madden picked up her second medal while both Gemmell and Weinstein earned their first.
Australia won gold with a time of 7:38.08, beating the Americans (7:40.86) by over two seconds. Defending champion China took bronze with a time of 7:42.34.
Medal #13 brought Ledecky ahead of other U.S. swimming greats. Jenny Thompson, Dara Torres and Natalie Coughlin each have 12 Olympic medals.
The only U.S. athlete with more Olympic medals is Michael Phelps (who coincidentally also hails from Maryland – specifically, Baltimore). Ledecky is tied for the second-most medals of any U.S. athlete in Olympic history, regardless of gender.
At 27, Ledecky has earned a long list of medals, "bests" and other stats that prove she is the GOAT (greatest of all time).
But Ledecky, who won her first gold medal at age 15 at the London Olympics, tries to stay humble.
“I try not to think about history very much. I know those names, those people I'm up with. They're people I looked up to when I first started swimming. So it's an honor to be named among them. I'm grateful for them inspiring me. There are so many great swimmers that have helped me get to this moment,” she said after winning her eighth gold on Wednesday.
Her gold-medal finish in the 1500m freestyle on Wednesday highlighted her dominance in the pool: When Ledecky finished, no other swimmers were even seen in the camera shot. Silver medalist Anastasiia Kirpichnikova finished over 10 seconds later.
Ledecky has a chance to reach new heights in the record books when she competes in the 800m freestyle final on Saturday.
