Pictures of Katie Ledecky approaching her eighth Olympic gold medal triumph gained virality for showcasing the unbelievably dominant fashion in which she secured the historic win.
On Wednesday, the 27-year-old took home gold in the 1,500-meter freestyle in Paris with an Olympic record time of 15:30.02.
And Ledecky was dominant from the jump. The American had a lead of over three seconds a quarter of the way through and kept her foot on the gas, leaving her opponents in a race for second place.
Near the finish, Ledecky got so far ahead that cameras on the broadcast had to zoom out to show the second-fastest swimmer in the race.
The viral images show Ledecky heading back for the win while another swimmer was yet to make her turn at the other end of the pool.
Katie Ledecky went viral for pictures showcasing her dominance while securing gold in Paris
NBC has moved to the All-22 cam so Katie Ledecky’s competition can stay in the frame. pic.twitter.com/W79iuNkZfc
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) July 31, 2024
You can’t tell it from this picture, but Katie Ledecky is swimming against other people here #Olympics pic.twitter.com/Ol36pKaEl6
— Oluwajomiloju (@JomiAdeniran) July 31, 2024
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As users praised Ledecky in the comment section, one user pointed out how her dominance makes her competitors ‘compete for silver.’
Behind Ledecky were France’s Anastasiia Kirpichnikova with silver and Germany’s Isabel Gose securing bronze.
Ledecky also won the event at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and is a five-time world champion, securing titles in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2022, and 2023.
The gold was also her 12th overall, tying Jenny Thompson and Emma McKeon for the most in Olympic history in women’s swimming.
Before Wednesday’s race, Ledecky had one medal in the Paris games after taking home bronze in the women’s 400m freestyle on Saturday.
Ledecky has secured a podium finish in all but one of her Olympic finals after finishing ninth in the 200m free in 2021.
France's Anastasiia Kirpichnikova bagged silver and Germany's Isabel Gose secured bronze
Ledecky won gold in the 1,500-meter freestyle with an Olympic record time of 15:30.02
Ledecky secured her eighth Olympic gold medal and 12th podium finish overall
She will look to add another gold and break a tie with Thompson when she competes in the 800-meter freestyle.
Prelims will begin on Friday, with the final race on Saturday afternoon.
A win this weekend will make Ledecky the first woman to win nine golds in swimming and tie her with Mark Spitz for the second-most swimming golds in history overall.
Meanwhile, a medal finish will make her one of two swimmers across genders to win 13 total medals at the Olympics.