Ledecky makes history at US Olympic swim trials

Seven-time Olympic champion Katie Ledecky will aim to join the great Michael Phelps when she goes for a fourth straight gold medal in the same event in Paris this summer.

The American broke through with 800m freestyle gold at London 2012 aged 15.

Her 800m freestyle wins in Rio and Tokyo are among the 10 Olympic medals she was won.

In Paris she will have the chance to join Phelps as the only swimmers to win four straight gold medals in the same Olympic event.

She made history at the US Olympic swim trials in Indianapolis on Saturday, becoming the first woman to win four titles at a single trials with a blistering 800m freestyle victory.

The holder of the quickest swim 16 times in the world in that event, she finished in eight minutes 14.12 seconds, more than six seconds clear of her nearest challenger.

It means she will bid to extend her Olympic medal haul by featuring in the 400m freestyle, the 800m freestyle and the 1500m freestyle in addition to the 4x200m freestyle relay in Paris.

"It's time to get back to work. Got to get ready for Paris," she said.

Among those joining Ledecky in Paris will be Caeleb Dressel, who won five golds in Tokyo but took a break from the sport in 2022. He won the men's 100m butterfly on Saturday, adding to Friday's 50m freestyle victory.

Kate Douglass has booked her place in the women's 200m individual medley, 200m breaststroke and 100m freestyle following a successful Indianapolis trials.

-BBC