Katie Ledecky came to these Olympic Games hoping to be the most decorated female athlete of all time. With her third consecutive gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle, Ledecky was able to accomplish this feat. She is three short of Larisa Latynina, Soviet gymnast's nine-year-old record for individual gold medals in the 800-meter freestyle.Ledecky, now 24, made her Olympic debut at age 15 in 2012. She is currently competing in her third Olympic Games. Ledecky is swimming toward history. Let's look at her dominance and the future.6: This is when Ledecky discovered swimming for the first time. Her mother actually swam at University of New Mexico.4: Ledecky is a diver when she's not swimming. She also enjoys Scrabble, chess, and piano outside the pool. In her spare time, she volunteers. She has contributed to many charities, including Catholic Charities and Shepard's Table.Ledecky already had two world records, four world championships, and a 2012 gold medal. Ledecky was actually Team USA's youngest swimmer at the 2016 and 2012 Olympic Games.15:07.57: Ledecky completed the 1650-yard freestyle in dominant fashion in 2018, her last appearance at the NCAA championships. Ledecky managed to beat her competitors in the above time, almost 30 seconds faster than the 2nd-place finisher.15: Ledecky ended her NCAA career with 15 records in swimming and eight national titles, despite having only two years of eligibility. These records include the marks in the 500, 1000, 1650, 400, free relay, 800 free relay, and 1600 free relay.3: Ledecky holds the world record in the 400m/800m/1500m Freestyle. This year's Olympic debut was made in the last event. Ledecky has held the world record for the 1500m six times. Ledecky set the world record for the 1500m women's free at 15:20.48 in 2018.7: The dominant swimmer became first woman to win both the 200- and 1,500 meter freestyles on the same day in July. Both her races actually took place 75 minutes apart. Ledecky's victories in Tokyo made her the top-five women for Olympic gold medals. Larisa Latynina (99) is currently ranked first.36: This is Ledecky’s total medal count at international competitions, including the Olympics, World Championships, and Pan Pacfici Championships. In the 2012 London Games, the first was in the 800m freestyle for women. It was 3,280 days ago.ESPN Stats and Information contributed information to this story.
