Ledecky Wins Gold in 1500 as US Swimmers Earn 4 More Medals

The U.S. swim team picked up four medals for a second straight night on Tuesday, headlined by Katie Ledecky's win in the women's 1500m freestyle.

Erica Sullivan secured a silver medal in the same final, while Alex Walsh and Kate Douglass finished second and third respectively in the women's 200m individual medley.

Ledecky made history as the first-ever women's 1500m freestyle Olympic gold medal winner, finishing in 15:37.34. She now has six career Olympic golds.

Sullivan posted a time of 15:41.41 to give Team USA the top two finishers in the 1500m freestyle. Germany’s Sarah Köhler (15:42.91) earned the bronze.

Ledecky was able to bounce back after failing to make the podium in the 200m freestyle earlier in the night. Ledecky, the reigning Olympic champion, finished fifth with a time of 1:55.21. Australia’s Ariarne Titmus, who beat Ledecky for the 400m freestyle gold, won the event in 1:53.50. Hong Kong's Siobhan Bernadette Haughey (1:53.92) finished in second and Canada's Penny Oleksiak (1:54.70) came in third.

Walsh and Douglass, both 19 years old, medaled after an exciting finish to the 200m individual medley. Japan’s Yui Ohashi claimed gold with a time of 2:08.52, just beating out Walsh (2:08.65). Douglass recorded a time of 2:09.04.

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In addition to the women’s 200m freestyle, the U.S. also didn’t medal in the men’s 200m butterfly and men’s 4x200m freestyle relay.

Gunnar Bentz finished seventh in the 200m butterfly with a time of 1:55.46. Hungary’s Kristof Milak broke Michael Phelps’ 200m butterfly Olympic record by winning the event in 1:51.25. Japan’s Tomoru Honda won silver and Italy’s Federico Burdisso secured bronze.

Seeking a fifth straight gold medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay, Team USA finished fourth. The lineup of Kieran Smith, Drew Kibler, Zach Apple and Townley Haas was in a tight race for the bronze but came up short, finishing in 7:02.43. Great Britain (6:58.58), ROC (7:01.81) and Australia (7:01.84) made the podium.

While Caeleb Dressel didn’t swim in the 4x200m freestyle relay, he did compete on Tuesday night. Dressel posted the second-best semifinal time in the men’s 100m freestyle at 47.23. Apple finished 11th overall, failing to qualify for the medal race.

In the two other semifinals, Americans Hali Flickinger and Regan Smith qualified for the women’s 200m butterfly final after finishing second and fourth overall respectively, while Nic Fink booked a trip to the men’s 200m breaststroke medal race with a fourth overall finish.

Each of the finals for those events will take place on Wednesday night, with the swimming action starting at 9:30 p.m. ET.