ON CLOUD NINE: Ledecky makes history with 9th Olympic title

PARIS, France (AFP) — American Katie Ledecky made history with her ninth career Olympic gold medal while Canada’s Summer McIntosh underlined her status as the rising star of the sport with her third gold medal in the Paris Games.

Ledecky powered to a fourth straight 800m Olympic freestyle title to tie the record for most gold medals won by a woman athlete in any sport.

The 17-year-old McIntosh produced a superb late surge to win the 200m individual medley to add to her triumphs in the 400m medley and 200m butterfly.

Ledecky has dominated in the 800m since winning the event as a 15-year-old at the London Games in 2012, and while she was pushed all the way by Australian Ariarne Titmus, the defense of her crown never truly looked in danger.

The 27-year-old hit the wall in eight minutes and 11.04 seconds, ahead of Titmus (8:12.29) and the United States’ Paige Madden (8:13.00).

“I knew Ariarne was going to give me everything she had,” Ledecky said.

“I felt confident coming into it, but it was gonna be tough no matter what all the way down to the finish.”

“I just had to stick in the race and trust myself, trust my training, trust that I know how to race that event and I am just kind of relieved that I got my hand on my wall.”

A ninth gold drew her level with former Soviet-era artistic gymnast Larisa Latynina as the only women ever to collect that many titles.

The greatest distance swimmer the sport has seen, she had already won the 1500m and earned silver in the 4x200m freestyle relay and bronze in the 400m freestyle in Paris.

No other woman swimmer has won gold at four different Olympics and Ledecky said that was the record that gave her particular satisfaction.

“I think four times one is the one that kind of means the most to me. I felt like I put a lot of pressure on myself but I’m just really happy that I could get the job done,” she added.

Titmus, who beat Ledecky in the 400m freestyle, was full of admiration for the American’s achievement.

“She’s been winning this race since I was 11 years old and I turn 24 next month. That is just remarkable. She’s unreal,” she said.

McIntosh led from Australian Kaylee McKeown after the backstroke before the USA’s Alex Walsh grabbed the advantage at the last turn, following the breaststroke leg.

But McIntosh once again produced the killer final lap to grab a thrilling victory.

American Kate Douglass took silver while McKeown took the bronze after Walsh, who had finished third, was disqualified.

McIntosh was able to enjoy another of her casual strolls around the pool, waving to her fans with a gold medal around her neck.

“It’s pretty surreal. I’m just so proud of myself for how I’ve been able to recover and manage the events because it is a lot,” the teenager said.