Katie Ledecky becomes most decorated American female Olympian after winning 13th medal

Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky on Thursday became the most decorated female American Olympian of all time, after she helped the U.S. take home the silver in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay, which secured her 13th medal.

The U.S. team finished second in the relay, just two seconds behind Australia who set a new Olympic record. Australia finished their race in seven minutes, and 38 seconds. U.S. finished in seven minutes and 40 seconds, and their team consisted of Ledecky, Claire Weinstein, Paige Madden and Erin Gemmell.

China, who won the gold for the race in 2020, took bronze.

Ledecky's record comes after she also won her eighth Olympic gold medal and set an Olympic record in the 1,500-meter freestyle on Wednesday. She can still land one more medal at the Paris Olympics if she medals in the 800-meter freestyle on Saturday.

The Olympic swimmer previously medaled in the London, Rio, and Tokyo Olympics, and said she hopes to still qualify for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, according to ESPN.

“I’ve been consistent over these last few months and last few years in saying that I would love to compete in L.A. and that hasn’t changed,” Ledecky said after the 1,500-meter freestyle. “That could change. I mean, you never know. So, I really just take it year by year at this point and I really haven’t thought much beyond this week in terms of what my fall is going to look like, what my next year is going to look like. But ... I don’t feel like I’m close to being finished in the sport yet.”

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.