Paris 2024: Katie Ledecky holds off Ariarne Titmus to win fourth straight 800m freestyle gold
ByOli Gent
Updated 03/08/2024 at 23:54 GMT+1
Katie Ledecky won her fourth consecutive gold in the women's 800m freestyle final at Paris 2024. The American held off Australian rival Ariarne Titmus despite the 400m gold medallist staying with her the entire race. Ledecky clocked 8:11:04 to retain her title, pulling away after being challenged in the early stages of the race by Australia's Ariarne Titmus.
'Very special indeed' - Legend Ledecky makes history with ninth Olympic gold medal
Video credit: TNT Sports
Katie Ledecky retained the women's 800m freestyle title for the fourth time as she held off the challenge of Ariarne Titumus at Paris 2024.
The American, who won this event on her Olympic debut in London 2012 before setting the world record four years later in Rio, won her third title in Tokyo and successfully defended it at the La Defense Arena.
She was pushed hard in the early exchanges of the race by Australian Ariarne Titmus in lane three, who was the likeliest of the final field to challenge Ledecky and potentially usurp the 27-year-old, but Ledecky pulled clear of her rival with around 600m to go as her stroke rate increased.
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'A lot of relief' for Ledecky who admits she put pressure on herself in 800m
Video credit: TNT Sports
Ledecky and Titmus had been in close contact for the majority of the race, almost immediately pulling away from the field off the first turn.
But try as Titmus might, Ledecky still had plenty in the tank to kick away from her, leading by a full body length at the end to claim gold and exact her revenge on her Australian counterpart, who beat her in the 400m freestyle earlier in the week.
Paige Madden, Ledecky's compatriot, won bronze, and pushed Titmus hard at the end as Ledecky burst away, but Madden was still half a second shy of silver.
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Video credit: TNT Sports
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Ledecky earned her second gold of the Games, having won the 1500m freestyle by ten seconds and setting a new Olympic record in the process.
She added that to her bronze in the 400m freestyle, where she was beaten by Titmus and Canadian teenager Summer McIntosh, and silver in the women's 4x200m freestyle relay, where the United States were pipped to the wall by Titmus' Australia.
discovery+Â is the streaming home of the Olympic Games, and the only place you can watch every moment of Paris 2024 this summer.
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