Team USA has added another silver to the overall medal count!
On Thursday at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, Katie Ledecky, Allison Schmitt, Paige Madden and Katie McLaughlin earned silver in the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay with 7:40.73. Australia took bronze with 7:41.29.
Schmitt, who recently won bronze in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay, kicked off the race for the four-member squad and touched the wall in fourth place. Madden fought hard to catch up to Australia to finish third as McLaughlin held on strong to third.
It all came down to the final 25m when Ledecky made a final push and secured silver, finishing just 0.40 seconds behind gold medal-winning China, who set a new world record with 7:40.33.
Schmitt and Ledecky previously led the U.S. relay to gold in Rio.
After winning her first gold, Ledecky spoke to reporters about her attitude going into each race and how it’s one of the reasons she’s “been so successful” in her career so far.
“I approach each race with a belief in myself. It’s the attitude I’ve always had that’s why I’ve been so successful,” the athlete said. “Anything can happen, [the attitude I go in with is] I can beat the world record in this race. That’s the kind of pressure and confidence I try to build up. It’s a blessing to have that attitude. I think that’s why I broke so many world records and swam fast. It’s hard to maintain for nine years but, I’ve learned a lot over the years.”
Earlier this week, Ledecky took silver after finishing second in the 400m freestyle final, behind Australian Ariarne Titmus. And in the 200m freestyle final, she finished in fifth place with 1:55.21, losing the gold medal to Titmus.
Ledecky, a specialist at distance freestyle events, will next compete in the women’s 800m freestyle in the pursuit of her tenth total Olympic medal.
To learn more about Team USA, visitTeamUSA.org. Watch the Tokyo Olympics now on NBC.
source: people.com
