U.S. swim star Katie Ledecky shattered her own world record Sunday night, clinching the first of four gold medals she hopes to win at the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Shaving nearly two seconds off her prior world record time from 2014, the 19-year-old powerhouse—and future freshman at Stanford University—swam the women’s 400-meter freestyle in 3:56.46. Ledecky’s unprecedented performance saw her finish Sunday’s race five seconds ahead of swimmers taking home the silver and bronze medals, Jazz Carlin of Great Britain and U.S. teammate Leah Smith.
