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Katie Ledecky, Team USA win silver in 4 x 200m freestyle
By Mary Cunningham,
1 day ago
Katie Ledecky claims her 12th Olympic medal as U.S. women's soccer advances 03:31
Katie Ledecky is now the most decorated U.S. female athlete in Olympic history.
The 27-year-old D.C.-area native broke records at La Défense Arena in Paris on Thursday after earning her 13th Olympic medal during the women's 4 x 200m freestyle relay.
This is the swimmer's fourth silver medal . She also holds eight gold medals, tying her with American swimmer Jenny Thompson, and one bronze.
Team USA finished second behind Australia, which was favored to win the gold medal. China came in third for bronze.
Katie Ledecky, of United States, sits on the pool deck with teammates during the women's 4x200-meter freestyle relay final at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Matthias Schrader / AP
It marks a huge milestone for Ledecky, who has stunned audiences since her Olympic debut at the 2012 London Games.
She continued to captivate sport fans at the 2016 and 2020 Games, racking up nine more medals, for a total of 10 going into this year's Games.
Ledecky has continued to dominate in Paris. Prior to Thursday's victory, she won a bronze medal in the women's 400-meter freestyle and gold in the 1,500-meter freestyle, her signature event. And the swim legend broke her own record in the 1,500-meter event, finishing 10 seconds before competitor Anastasiia Kirpichnikova of France with an Olympic record time of 15:30.02 .
"I just wanted to swim a time I could be really happy with, and that was the one. It's never easy to win a gold medal. Just trying to soak in every moment of it," she said after that race .
Katie Ledecky with her gold medal after the Women's 1500m Freestyle Final at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games on July 31, 2024. Christian Liewig - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
After Team USA's triumph Thursday, Ledecky now holds the record for the most medals in women's Olympic swimming history, surpassing Americans Jenny Thompson, Dara Torres and Natalie Coughlin and Australian Emma McKeon, who each hold 12 medals.
Ledecky isn't finished yet. She is set to compete again in Paris during the women's 800-meter freestyle final. The freestyle heats will start Friday at 5 a.m. ET and the finals will take place the following day at 3:08 p.m.
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