Three-Peat for Ledecky

TOKYO – At this point, no one should be surprised by the accomplishments of Katie Ledecky. Ledecky defended her gold medal in the 800m free at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to become a three-time gold medalist in the event, cementing her legacy as the greatest women's 800m free swimmer in Olympic history.

She is the only U.S. woman to three-peat at the Olympics.

Ledecky led from start to finish and cruised to a more than one second victory, touching the wall at 8:12.57. Ledecky won her first gold medal in the event at the age of 15, shocking the field to win at the 2012 London Olympics.

The victory in the 800m free increases Ledecky's medal total to four at the Tokyo Olympics (two gold, two silver), and 10 for her career (seven gold, three silver). Ledecky has won nine gold medals as a Stanford affiliate, beginning after she signed her NLI ahead of the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The 800m concludes Ledecky's Olympic program at the 2020 Games.