Inside Katie Ledecky's dominance at 800, 1500 meters: History of Olympic medals, records for USA's long-distance queen

There is no one who has the endurance that Katie Ledecky has in the swimming pool.

There are plenty of ways to describe the American swim sensation. She’s a world record holder, an Olympic gold medalist, World Champion and all-time great Olympian. She’s also arguably the best in the world at long-distance swimming.

When it comes to lengthy races in the pool, there are very few who can even contend with Ledecky. The seven-time gold medalist is looking to add to her Olympic collection in 2024 when she competes in the 800-meter and 1500-meter freestyle in Paris.

Ledecky is the defending champion from Tokyo in both categories and has long been seen as the woman to beat in those international races. She took her first step in securing a spot at the top of the podium at the heats of the 1500-meter freestyle when she demolished the rest of her group.

When Katie Ledecky’s in the pool for the 1500m free, it’s a race for second place. 🤷‍♀️🇺🇸 #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/PLvJD9MRz7

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) July 30, 2024

2024 PARIS OLYMPICS
Full Olympics schedule | How to watch in USA | Meet NBC’s broadcasters

Just how long has she been dominant in the two lengthy races? Here is a look at Ledecky’s history in the two events.

Katie Ledecky 800m history

For over a decade, quite literally no one was able to come close to beating Ledecky. The American swimmer won her first Olympic gold in the event in 2012, and then defended it successfully in 2016 in Rio, and in 2021 in Tokyo.

It got to the point where Ledecky was essentially competing against herself, seeing if she could beat her previous marks. Not only did she consistently break her own world record, no other swimmer was sniffing her times, leading to the infamous meme from the Tokyo Olympics.

Safe to say Katie Ledecky is actually unstoppable in the women’s 800m freestyle. pic.twitter.com/LWZTIXkR0o

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) July 31, 2021

That is, until a Canadian teenager came in and stunned the swimming world this year. Summer McIntosh defeated Ledecky in the 800m freestyle at USA Swimming’s 2024 Southern Zone South Sectionals earlier this year.

While Ledecky is still the favorite in the event, McIntosh has emerged as a legitimate threat to take out the Washington, D.C. native, and snapping what would be four consecutive gold medals in the women’s 800m freestyle.

Olympics	Finish	Time
2012	1st	8:14.63
2016	1st	8:04.79
2020	1st	8:12.57

She holds the world record for the fastest time in the 800-meter freestyle at 8:04.79, which she set during the Rio Olympics.

Katie Ledecky 1500m history

The 1500-meter is a fairly new race at the Olympics. It was just introduced in Tokyo as a new race within the swimming competition.

With that said, Ledecky is no stranger to the lengthy race. She has been competing in the 1500-meter in other international events like the World Championships and Pan Pacific Championships.

BEST U.S. OLYMPIANS
Top 33 rankings | Simone Biles | Katie Ledecky | Jesse Owens

So, it came to no one’s surprise when Ledecky won the first gold medal in the Olympic 1500-meter event, defeating the rest of the field by at least four seconds in Tokyo.