Katie Ledecky swam the women’s 1,500-meter freestyle preliminaries with a commanding lead, finishing more than a half-lap ahead of her closest competitor with a time of 15 minutes, 47.43 seconds. She is aiming for her first gold medal of the Paris Olympics and has the prime lane in the final. Italy’s Simona Quadarella, France’s Anastasiia Kirpichnikova, and Germany’s Isabel Gose were the only other swimmers to break the 16-minute mark in the heats. Ledecky is looking to secure the 12th Olympic medal of her career, which would tie her with Dara Torres, Jenny Thompson, and Natalie Coughlin for the most ever by a female swimmer.
In her previous event, Ledecky earned a bronze in the 400 freestyle and holds the record for the most individual gold medals won by a woman, with six. She has received support from past record-holders and is looking forward to continuing her success at the Games. Unfortunately, the other American in the event, Katie Grimes, finished 10th in the preliminaries and did not advance. Grimes still has the marathon race scheduled next week as she aims to make the podium in both pool swimming and open water.
French swimmer Léon Marchand, fresh off a victory in the men’s 400 individual medley, faced a challenging double in the men’s 200 butterfly and 200 breaststroke. Marchand was sixth-fastest in the 200 butterfly preliminaries and then posted the third-best time in the 200 breaststroke, setting up a grueling double in the evening semifinals. He expressed gratitude for the support of the enthusiastic crowd and was focused on swimming his best in the races. The finals of both events were scheduled for the following night, just two hours apart.
In other heats, American Jack Alexy led the men’s 100 freestyle with a time of 47.57, followed by France’s Maxime Grousset and Romania’s David Popovici. Popovici had won a gold medal in the 200 free the previous night. The defending Olympic champion Britain set the pace in the heats of the 4×200 freestyle relay, with the United States claiming the second spot for the evening final. The finals of the men’s 200 butterfly and 200 breaststroke were set to take place, with Hungary’s Kristóf Milák and South Korea’s Cho Sung-jae leading their respective events in the heats.
As the swimming events continued at the Paris Olympics, top athletes like Katie Ledecky and Léon Marchand were showcasing their skills and aiming for gold medals. Ledecky dominated the women’s 1,500-meter freestyle preliminaries, while Marchand faced a challenging double in the men’s 200 butterfly and 200 breaststroke. Both athletes received support from enthusiastic crowds and were determined to perform their best in the finals. The competition in the pool was intense, with swimmers from various countries vying for top honors and setting the stage for thrilling races in the days ahead.
