Team USA's legendary swimmer Katie Ledecky continues to make history at the 2024 Paris Olympics and in dominant fashion.
Ledecky put on an absolute clinic during Wednesday's 1,500-meter freestyle event while swimming at the Paris La Défense Arena.
She not only trimmed off nearly 17 seconds from her already top time from the qualifiers, which saw her swim a 15:47.43, but Ledecky also set a new Olympic record in the final.
Ledecky finished with a remarkable 15:30.02, clinching Olympic medal No. 12 for her career, which started at the London Games in 2012 when she was just 15.
However, to truly show just how special of a time Ledecky finished with, you have to look at where the rest of the field had finished. French swimmer Anastasia Kirpichnikova was the next "closest" to Ledecky, as she finished with a 15:40.35 to clinch the silver medal.
That still doesn't do Ledecky's dominance justice,, though. She was leading by so much that NBC actually had to change their camera angle to show other swimmers, and when she finished, no one else was in the frame.
In terms of her time and how impressive it was, for anyone else, it may be something to be stunned by. But for Ledecky? She's been there and done that, many times.
We should have known that she was feeling confident heading into the event after her post-qualifying Instagram post that read: "Felt good to race again this morning, 1500 final up tomorrow! 🇺🇸 Proud of my teammates on some amazing performances, let’s keep it rolling 🥰."
However, if you asked Ledecky how she felt about her Olympic record time, she may not have been as impressed with herself because she has done much better at the 1,500-meter free before.
Following her historic victory, a stat from TruMedia surfaced on social media that revealed that she has had a better time on six other occasions.
Ledecky has dominated the event since she hit the pro circuit, but to take that another step further, she has also produced the top 20 times in the event's history.
Along with making Olympic history, she was also able to make some Team USA history.
Her eighth Olympic gold evens her up with American Jenny Thompson’s all-time record for most gold medals in swimming. It also marked her 12th Olympic medal, which ties her with Thompson, Dara Torres, and Natalie Coughlin for the most ever by a female swimmer.
“I did have fun,” Ledecky said after dominating the event. “I felt really good. I just tried to hold steady the whole time. Hold my stroke, hold my time, each 50 [meters] and to swim a time that I could feel really happy with. I’m really proud of that swim.”
The 27-year-old will have two more chances to add more medals to her cabinet, as she still has yet to compete in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay on August 1, and the Women's 800-meter freestyle on August 2.
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