Katie Ledecky, already a two-time medalist at these Rio Olympics, won gold in the 200m freestyle in a time of one minute, 53.73 seconds on Tuesday night. Ledecky represented the U.S.’ only medal hopes in the event, as Missy Franklin did not advance out of the semifinals.
Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden earned the silver, a quarter of a second behind Ledecky. More on the pair’s much-hyped rivalry here.
Australia’s Emma McKeon took the bronze with a time of 1:54.92.
The world record of 1:52.98, set in 2009 at the height of the rubberized suit era, could not be touched. Federica Pellegrini, who still owns that record, finished fourth.
Ledecky’s won her two other Rio medals when she took gold in world record time in the 400m freestyle and alongside teammates Dana Vollmer, Simone Manuel and Abbey Weitzeil the 4x100m freestyle relay (silver). She is the runaway favorite in the 800m freestyle as the defending Olympic champion in the event – preliminary heats begin Thursday – and she is expected to be named to the 4x200m freestyle relay team, racing Wednesday.