Image Credit... Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesLedecky churned ever closer to the zenith on Saturday, finishing third in the 400-meter freestyle, outpaced by Ariarne Titmus, 23, of Australia, below — who stunned her in the event in the Tokyo Games three years ago — and Summer McIntosh of Canada, a 17-year-old already competing in her second Olympics.
Image Credit... Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesImage Credit... Gabriela Bhaskar for The New York TimesBy winning bronze, her 11th Olympic medal, Ledecky moved to within one of Jenny Thompson of the United States, with three more events, including her best two — the longest events — still to come.
Image Credit... Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesLedecky once held the world record in the 400 freestyle, too — for almost six years, until 2022.
Then it bounded from Titmus to McIntosh and back to Titmus, who on Saturday did not lower her mark.
She swam a more than two seconds slower than her scorching record time but still fended off the other seven women in the pool, including the best distance freestyler ever.
Persons:
Katie Ledecky, Chang W, Lee, New York Times Ledecky, Ariarne Titmus, Summer McIntosh, Gabriela Bhaskar, Ledecky, Jenny Thompson, —, McIntosh
Organizations:
New York Times, Tokyo Games, The New York Times
Locations:
Paris, Australia, Canada, United States, Titmus