Katie Ledecky swims into history with 800 freestyle victory at the Paris Olympics

Katie Ledecky capped different stellar Olympics by becoming lone the 2nd swimmer to triumph an lawsuit astatine 4 consecutive Summer Games, holding disconnected Ariarne Titmus to triumph the 800-meter freestyle Saturday night.

It was Ledecky's 2nd golden medal successful Paris and ninth of her singular career, which marked different milestone. She became lone the sixth Olympian to scope that figure, joining swimmer Mark Spitz, way prima Carl Lewis, Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina and Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi successful a necktie for 2nd place.

The lone jock to triumph much golds: swimmer Michael Phelps with 23.

Ledecky went faster than her winning clip successful Tokyo, touching successful 8 minutes, 11.04 seconds. Titmus, the Australian prima known arsenic the "Terminator," was close connected her enarthrosis astir the full race, but Ledecky pulled distant successful the last 100.

Titmus, who bushed Ledecky successful the 400 freestyle, settled for metallic astatine 8:12.29. The bronze went to different American, Paige Madden astatine 8:13.00.

Phelps had been the lone swimmer to triumph the aforesaid lawsuit astatine 4 consecutive games, taking golden successful the 200 idiosyncratic medley astatine Athens, Beijing, London and Rio de Janeiro.

Now he's got company.

Ledecky claimed her archetypal golden with a astonishment triumph successful the 800 escaped arsenic a 15-year-old astatine the 2012 London Games. She has dominated the grueling contention ever since.