Swimmer Katie Ledecky breaks her own world record in Rio

Catherine Garcia, The Week US's avatar
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Katie Ledecky celebrates breaking a world record in the women's 400m freestyle.
(Image credit: Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images)

American swimmer Katie Ledecky arrived at the Rio Olympics already holding world records in the 400, 800, and 1,500 meter freestyles, and on Sunday, she shattered one of those records.

The 19-year-old shaved almost two seconds off her 400 free world record, coming in at 3:56:46 and winning her first gold medal of the games. On Saturday, Ledecky received a silver medal as part of the women's 4x100 free relay. Next, Ledecky will swim individually in the 200 and 800 frees.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.