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Stanford's Katie Ledecky earns 20th world medal, tying Cal's Natalie Coughlin for most all-time

Jun 21, 2022
Katie Ledecky | Stanford Athletics

Stanford women's swimming alumna Katie Ledecky earned her 20th world medal on Monday, tying California alumna Natalie Coughlin for the most all-time.

Ledecky earned gold in the women's 1,500-meter freestyle at the 19th FINA World Championships in Budapest. Her time of 15:30.15 was almost 15 seconds faster than second-place Katie Grimes.

Two days earlier, Ledecky broke the World Championships record in the women's 400-meter freestyle, winning gold with a time of 3:58.15.

Ledecky's 17 gold medals at World Championships are the most all-time.

A 10-time Olympic medalist, Ledecky swam at Stanford for two seasons (2017, 2018), leading the Cardinal to the Pac-12 title and national championship both years.

A 2021 graduate, Ledecky was an eight-time individual NCAA championship and nine-time All-American.

Coughlin swam at Cal from 2001 to 2003, winning NCAA Swimmer of the Year all three seasons, and was inducted into the Pac-12 Hall of Honor in 2019.