NANTERRE, France — American swimming star Katie Ledecky cruised to victory in an event that’s become synonymous with her name, earning her first Olympic gold medal of the Paris Games in the women’s 1500-meter freestyle Wednesday.
Ledecky set an Olympic record with a time of 15:30.02.
She has not lost this race in more than 14 years, and she owns the 20 fastest times in world history in the event. It is, for all intents and purposes, only an actual race for silver. France’s Anastasiia Kirpichnikova earned it in 15:40.35, while Germany’s Isabel Gose won bronze in 15:41.