PARIS: American great Katie Ledecky admitted "it doesn't get any easier" after powering to the Olympic 1500m freestyle title Wednesday, adding an eighth gold medal to her glittering collection.
The 27-year-old was untouchable, surging home in 15min 30.02sec, an Olympic record and more than 10 seconds ahead of France's Anastasiia Kirpichnikova in second. Germany's Isabel Gose won bronze.
The win elevated her as the first woman swimmer to win gold at four Olympics.
Among men, only fellow Americans Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte have achieved the feat.
It was a reward for three more years of hard toil after she claimed the title in Tokyo.
"It's not easy, it doesn't get any easier so I do try to enjoy it each year," she said.
"There's a different perspective that I have from different years. Different challenges that you face each year in training and as you get older.
"I definitely appreciate it a lot and have a lot more perspective than I did back in Rio or London."
Ledecky went out hard and was a body length clear after 100m with her lead growing to five seconds at the halfway mark.
She never relented, her advantage continuing to build as she reinforced her reputation as the greatest distance swimmer the sport has seen.
The result was never in doubt with Ledecky setting the last six world records and now holding the fastest 20 times ever swum.
"My mind wandered a lot," she admitted. "I was thinking about my teammates that I train with back home.
"Three years ago in Tokyo I was repeating my grandmother's names in my head. Today I kind of settled on the boys names, the boys in Florida that I train with every day."
It was her eighth Olympic gold, and 12th medal overall after adding a bronze in the 400m freestyle behind Australian winner Ariarne Titmus.
Ledecky will also swim the 800m in Paris, with Titmus standing in her way of winning a fourth straight title.
"I try not to think about history much," she said of her storied career.
"I know those names, those people that I'm up with, they're people that I looked up to when I first started swimming. It's an honour just to be named among them.
"I'm grateful for them inspiring me and so many great swimmers over the years in the US that have helped me get to this moment."
Ledecky has dominated distance freestyle swimming for more than a decade.
She was just 15 when she won the 800m free at the London Games. She repeated in Rio four years later, when her 800m triumph was part of a four-gold haul that included the 200m and 400m free.
At the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics, Ledecky grabbed a third straight 800m free gold and won the 1500m free when it was added to the Olympic women's programme for the first time.
But she was relegated to silver in the 400m in Tokyo. --AFP