History for Ledecky

TOKYO – Katie Ledecky's name is already featured prominently in any record book. On Tuesday, she made another entry into the annals of swimming history.

Ledecky took home the gold in the inaugural racing of the women's 1500m at the Olympic games – the men have been contesting the event since 1904.

Ledecky's time of 15:37.34 was more than four seconds ahead of her nearest competitor as she handily won the longest swimming event raced in a pool. The former Stanford national champion now has eight Olympic medals – seven since she has been counted under Stanford's Olympic total as an affiliate. Ledecky has won six gold medals in her career.

With two medals to her name at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Ledecky has two remaining opportunities to medal this week: the 800m free and as a member of the 4x200m free relay team.