American swimmer Katie Ledecky dominated the 1,500-meter freestyle final, tying her compatriot Jenny Thompson as the swimmer with the most Olympic gold medals in history, with a total of eight golds each.

Adding to her impressive tally, Ledecky also has three silvers and a bronze in her Olympic career, which began at just 15 years old when she won the 800-meter freestyle at the London 2012 Games. Ledecky added four more titles at the Rio 2016 Games, winning the 200, 400, and 800-meter freestyle events, and playing a crucial role in the U.S. team's victory in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay.

In addition to her gold medals, Ledecky also secured a silver medal in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay in Rio. Five years later, at the Tokyo Games, Ledecky won her third consecutive gold in the 800-meter freestyle and became the first Olympic champion in the 1,500-meter freestyle.

However, she was unable to repeat her triumphs in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay, where she earned silver, and in the 400-meter freestyle, where she was bested by Australian Ariarne Titmus. In Paris, Ledecky had to settle for bronze in the 400-meter freestyle, finishing behind Titmus and Canadian Summer McIntosh.

But on Wednesday, she swapped that bronze for gold in the 1,500-meter freestyle, defending her Olympic title with a time of 15:30.02, setting a new Olympic record. She finished ten seconds ahead of French swimmer Anastasiia Kirpichnikova, who took silver with a time of 15:40.35, and eleven seconds ahead of Germany's Isabel Gose, who took bronze with a time of 15:41.16.

This result allowed Ledecky to tie Jenny Thompson as the swimmer with the most gold medals in Olympic history. Thompson won eight golds over four Olympic appearances—two in Barcelona 1992, three in Atlanta 1996, and three in Sydney 2000—along with three silvers and one bronze.

Unlike Ledecky, whose twelve Olympic medals include individual titles, all of Thompson’s golds came from relay events. These figures are still far from fellow American Michael Phelps, who is not only the most decorated swimmer but the most successful athlete in Olympic history, with a total of twenty-eight medals, twenty-three of which are gold.