2020 TOKYO SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES
- When: Pool swimming: Saturday, July 24 – Sunday, August 1, 2021
- Open Water swimming: Wednesday, August 4 – Thursday, August 5, 2021
- Where: Olympic Aquatics Centre / Tokyo, Japan
- Heats: 7 PM / Semifinals & Finals: 10:30 AM (Local time)
- Full aquatics schedule
- SwimSwam Event Previews
- Entry Lists
- Live Results
- Day 7 Finals Heat Sheet
American swimmer Katie Ledecky has a pool-full of firsts, bests, mosts, and other various superlatives, and on Saturday she added another: she has joined an exclusive group of three as women who have three-peated in an individual Olympic event.
Ledecky won the women’s 800 free on Saturday morning in Tokyo. That’s her 3rd consecutive gold medal in the event: first winning in 2012 at 15 (that one was the surprise), repeating in 2016 (that one was unavoidable), and now in 2021 (that one brought some nerves).
The only two swimmers to achieve this are Hungarian Krisztina Egerszegi, who won three straight gold medals in the 200 back at the 1988, 1992, and 1996 Olympics; and Australian Dawn Fraser, who won the 100 free at the 1956, 1960, and 1964 Olympics.
Egerszegi was 22 when she won her 3rd, Fraser was 27 when she won her 3rd straight, and Ledecky is now 24.
Ledecky’s time of 8:12.57 was slower than her unparalleled 8:04.79 World Record in 2016 but faster than her breakout 8:14.63 in London in 2012. Her margin in Tokyo, though, was the smallest of her three wins:
Margins of Victory:
- 2012 – 4.13 seconds
- 2016 – 11.38 seconds
- 2020(1) – 1.26 seconds
Young Ariarne Titmus, who won their previous two head-to-head matchups at this meet in the 200 and 400 free, pushed Ledecky the whole way and forced her to work. Ledecky showed the mettle to win anyway, but the world is closing on her. Ledecky is already historically old for elite women’s distance freestylers, which feels odd at only 24, and at 27 the world will likely continue to close on her. But, she at least has a chance at a 4th-straight.
Ledecky did commit after the race to swim at least until the Paris 2024 Olympics, saying that 2028 was a possibility as well.
A handful of others have won three-straight gold medals in relays, like Australian Cate Campbell, who has been on the last three gold medal winning 400 free relays.
That’s her 2nd gold medal and 4th total medal of this meet, as well as her 7th gold medal and 10th medal overall. That makes her one of 37 Olympians in the modern games to have double-digit medals. That list is topped by a swimmer, Michael Phelps, who has 28.
Most All-Time Olympic Medals, Swimmers:
- Michael Phelps – 28
- Jenny Thompson – 12
- Ryan Lochte – 12
- Dara Torres – 12
- Natalie Coughlin – 12
- Mark Spitz – 11
- Matt Biondi – 11
- Franziska van Almsick – 10
- Gary Hall, Jr – 10
- Natalie Coughlin – 10
- Allison Schmitt – 10
- Katie Ledecky – 10
All but one of the swimmers with double-digit medals are Americans, largely thank to the historic relay success. The exception is German Franziska van Almsick, who won 4 silver and 6 bronze medals from 1992 through 2004.
The next non-American with the most medals is Australian Ian Thorpe. Another Australian, Emma McKeon, has 8, with three more chances to join the double-digit club this week.
Katie is an amazing swimmer and congrats on her accomplishments. Very glad she is not retiring. I wish she would go back to the coach that brought her so many best times, which she was way off of for these games. And 24 is not too old to be getting best times. Gemmell > Meehan.
Ledecky 2 Gold 2 Silver
Titmus 2 Gold 1 Silver 1 Bronze
Update: McKeon now has 9 with two great chances tomorrow.
Putting Katie Ledecky’s medals in context, here is how it stacks up in individual events:
Phelps: 13 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze
Ledecky: 6 gold, 1 silver
Thompson: 1 silver, 1 bronze
Lochte: 2 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze
Torres: 1 silver, 3 bronze
Coughin: 2 gold, 3 bronze
Spitz: 4 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze
Biondi: 2 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze
van Almskick: 2 silver, 1 bonze
Hall: 2 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze
Schmitt: 1 gold, 1 silver
So considering that Katie Ledecky didn’t have the relay harvest that most sprinters have access to, her totals are pretty impressive, just behind Phelps.
Katie Ledecky is the female GOAT.
Katie Ledecky
Individual Gold Medals
Summer Olympics – 6
World Championships – 11
Not to mention 14 LCM World Records.
Krisztina Egerszegi’s individual Olympic career is comparable to Katie’s. She won 5 golds, 1 silver, and 1 bronze. Like Katie, she is a three-time champion in a single event (200 back, 1988, 1992, and 1996) and like Katie she had an Olympics where she won three individual gold medals (1992: both backstrokes and 400 IM). Of course being Hungarian she didn’t have access to relay golds, but if she were American you might have expected her to win gold in a couple of medley relays and (if it had been swum before 1996) two or three 800 free relays too.
Naturally I refuse to consider any of the East German women, for obvious reasons.
There was some post on SS that Ledecky set the record of becoming the oldest champion in 800FR event. Is it correct?
“Young Ariarne Titmus”. It’d better to use another way to speak about Titmus. In a month she will be 21. Yes, still young. But not in swimming. And definitely not a teenager.
This is the first Olympics that Ledecky raced two 1500s on her way to racing the 800
This is also the first Olympics that has women’s 1500
If we see throwing facts everyone knows, it’s also the first Olympics of a mixed medley relay.
Beautiful race and shows what why Ledecky is a true champ! Titmus was close throughout the race but Ledecky didn’t panick. She stayed off her legs until about 650-700. Time was pedestrian by her own standard but she really grind out the win.
Last time Ladaxky was faster than today’s result exactly three years ago. What her standards you are talking about? She he’s been competing internationally for 9 years already. It’s time of two generations in competitive swimming and during this long period she had different standards. Her today’s race was superb. Especially if to remember that training with Meehan this Covid season was focusing primarily on sprint.
Katie Ledecky would have more in the tank if Katie Ledecky did not attempt the women’s 200 meter/1500 meter freestyle double/double (heats/final). In the future, avoid session doubles at all costs. I can’t imagine the emotional, mental, physical toll of the aforementioned task.