Team USA swimming: Kate Douglass wins gold medal in 200m breaststroke, Katie Ledecky makes history at Olympics

The United States enjoyed an abundance of success when it came to the pool on Thursday. American swimmer Kate Douglass captured a gold medal by winning the 200-meter breaststroke final, while teammate Regan Smith secured a silver medal in the women's 200-meter butterfly.

Douglass was able to reach the top of the podium with a final time of 2:19.24. She was in first place by a slim margin after the first 100 meters of the race, and was able to hold onto that advantage. She had won the second semifinal heat on Wednesday with a time of 2:19.74. Meanwhile, fellow United States swimmer Lilly King finished in eighth place with a final time of 2:25.91 in the event.

Meanwhile, Smith was able to earn a silver medal with a final time of 2:03.84 in the women's 200-meter butterfly. Smith's time was the fastest by an American swimmer in the event in Olympic history. Smith was in third place after the first 100 meters of the race, but was able to rally to finish in second place in the event.

Fellow United States swimmer Alex Shackell finished in sixth place with a time of 2:07.73. Canada's Summer McIntosh earned the gold medal in the event with a time of 2:03.03 to edge out Smith.

United States swimmer Katie Ledecky continues to make history at the Paris Olympics. On Thursday, Ledecky was part of the American women's 4x200-meter freestyle relay team that won a silver medal. The United States team -- consisting of Ledecky, Paige Madden, Claire Weinstein, and Erin Gemmell -- finished with a final time of 7:40.86 and were outlasted by an Olympic-record setting performance by Australia.

With the silver medal, Ledecky earned her 13th Olympic medal , and passed Jenny Thompson, Natalie Coughlin, and Dara Torres for the most Olympic medals by a female swimmer.

Ledecky made up a significant amount of ground to get the United States into second place on the third leg of the race.

It marks the second consecutive day in which Ledecky has won an Olympic medal. On Wednesday, Ledecky effortlessly won a gold medal in the women's 1,500-meter freestyle final with a time of 15:30.02. In doing so, Ledecky set a new Olympic record in the event as well as securing the top 20 times in the 1500-meter freestyle.

The men also hit the pool with Keaton Jones being the lone United States' representative in the 200-meter backstroke final. Jones ended up finishing in fifth place in the event with a final time of 1:55:39. Hungary's Hubert Kos came away with the gold medal thanks to a final time of 1:54.26.

In the 50-meter freestyle semifinals, Caeleb Dressel finished in second place with a time of 21.58 in the first semifinal heat of the event. Jordan Crooks of the Cayman Islands just beat out Dressel for first place, but Dressel still had no problem qualifying for Friday's final as a result.

Phoebe Bacon finished in first place with a time of 2:07.32 in the first semifinal heat of the women's 200-meter backstroke. Bacon was in first place following the first 100 meters of the race, and was able to cruise to the victory. On the other hand, Smith had another impressive performance as she finished in third place with a final time of 2:08.14. Both Bacon and Smith will be competing in Friday's final in the event.

American Carson Foster finished in first place with a time of 1:56.37 in the first semifinal heat of the men's 200-meter individual medley. Foster got off to a strong start in the event as he was in first place following the first 100 meters. In the second semifinal heat of the event, fellow United States swimmer Shaine Casas turned in a time of 1:57.82, which was good for fourth place. Foster qualified for Friday's 200-meter backstroke final, while Casas, a first-time Olympian, just missed out on having a shot to compete in the final.