American distance swimmer Katie Ledecky delivered a gold-medal performance in the 1500-meter freestyle on Wednesday, bringing her total Olympic medal count to 12 — and earning her entrance into an elite club with only three other members.
Just three other American women — all of them swimmers — have ever won 12 Olympic medals: Jenny Thompson, Dara Torres, and Natalie Coughlin.
Katie Ledecky wins her 12th Olympic medal.
This ties her with Natalie Coughlin, Jenny Thompson & Dara Torres for the most by a US female swimmer 👏 pic.twitter.com/HtWUfBHXzf
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) July 31, 2024
Her win in Wednesday’s 1500 was not unexpected — she has not been beaten in that distance in more than a decade and held the top 19 times in the world prior to her Paris win— and it also tied her with Thompson for another record: with eight each, Ledecky and Thompson have the…
