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USA’s Katie Ledecky Shatters Her Own World Record to Bring Home the Gold

By
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
and
Michelle Toh
Michelle Toh
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By
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
and
Michelle Toh
Michelle Toh
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 7, 2016, 11:18 PM ET
SWIMMING-OLY-2016-RIO
USA's Katie Ledecky celebrates after she broke the World Record in the Women's 400m Freestyle Final during the swimming event at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on August 7, 2016. / AFP / Odd Andersen (Photo credit should read ODD ANDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images)Odd Anderson — AFP/ Getty Images

This piece originally appeared on SI.com.

American swimmer Katie Ledecky took home gold in the 400-meter freestyle on Sunday night, and shattered her own world record in the process.

The 19-year-old finished her four laps in 3:56:46, topping her then-record time of 3:58:37 at the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships by nearly two seconds.

Ledecky already had a silver medal to her name, placing second in Saturday’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay. She will race again on Monday afternoon in the 200-meter freestyle heats, and in the heats for the 800-meter free on Thursday.

The gold is the first for the United States this year in swimming.

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