Having already won gold in the 400 meter freestyle in dominant fashion, American Katie Ledecky faced a far stiffer test in the final of the 200 free Tuesday night in the form of Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom. However Ledecky remained undefeated in individual major international event finals in her career, holding off a hard-charging Sjostrom down the stretch to win the gold medal.
Ledecky finished the race with a time of 1:53.73, with Sjostrom finishing in 1:54.08. Australian Emma McKeon took the bronze with a time of 1:54.92.
MORE: Watch Ledecky’s race here
Ledecky has now won three total medals in these Olympics, two gold and a silver in the 4x100 freestyle relay. Sjostrom now has two medals in these Olympics, as she took gold in the 100 meter butterfly in world record time two days ago. Among those in attendance at the swimming venue were members of the United States men’s basketball team, including Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
Ledecky is the third swimmer in history to win the 200 and 400 free in the same Olympics, joining Australian Shane Gould (1972) and American Debbie Meyer(1968).