Except for Michael Phelps, Ledecky has won more individual gold medals than any other swimmer in history.

Katie Ledecky has been unbeaten in every 800-meter freestyle event she's raced in for 11 years, and it was still going strong Saturday morning in Tokyo.

In her final race of 2021, the most dominating female swimmer in history confirmed her title and entrenched her reputation with her hallmark discipline. Ledecky crossed the finish line in 8:12.57, earning her sixth individual gold and tenth Olympic medal.

Her six individual gold medals are currently the most ever won by a female American Olympian, and she is only second to Michael Phelps with 13 gold medals in swimming.

But, as impressive as Phelps' five Olympic medals were, it's Ledecky who has a level of domination in some aspects of swimming that we've never seen before. Her dominance in the 800-meter freestyle may be the most inescapable any athlete has ever been at anything... ever? Isn't it a bit of hyperbole? It's not the case. It's not that she always wins; it's just that she's defined what success in the women's 800-meter freestyle looks like. Ledecky has 22 of the greatest times in the event's history.

This is a display of outrageous power. Her last gold was also a three-peat in the 800 freestyle. It's only the fourth occasion in history that a swimmer has won gold in an individual event three times in a row. (Michael Phelps' four-straight wins in the 200-meter individual medley are unrivaled.)

Saturday's timing of 8:12.57 was mediocre by Ledecky's standards; it was only her 16th quickest time. Ledecky, 24, defeated opponent Ariarne Titmus, 20, who was not the same swimmer in the 800 as she was earlier in the week when Titmus beat Ledecky in the 200 and 400 meters freestyles. The Australian was never genuinely a danger to Ledecky during the race. Titmus made contact at 8:13.83.

Consider the following: Titmus' silver-medal winning swim on Saturday was the fastest non-Ledecky time in the women's 800-meter freestyle in history. It was just a smidgeon faster than Ledecky's 23rd-best time. Laughable!

And now, in three years, when the Games go to Paris, these two will very probably meet again. As a result, Ledecky vs. Titmus is expected to be the biggest topic for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Yes, Ledecky's Olympic career is far from done. While there wasn't a lot of conjecture about this, it's still noteworthy that Ledecky said for the first time at these Games that she is not retiring.

On NBC, Ledecky stated, "That wasn't my last swim — I'm at least going to '24." "We'll see what happens in '28. But I knew that [the 800] would be my final swim here. You should never take anything for granted; you never know whether you'll be back at the next Olympics, so take everything in."

In Tokyo, Ledecky and Titmus split their four head-to-head meets, with Titmus winning the 200 and 400 freestyles and Ledecky cruising to victory in the 800 free and the first-ever Olympic 1,500-meter freestyle for women. (Titmus did not compete in that race.) Ledecky raced the fastest leg (1:53.76) of any swimmer in the 4x200 free relay to help the US win silver and beat Titmus and the Australians to bronze.
On NBC, Ledecky stated, "It's fantastic." "I simply wanted to end on a high note, and I'm absolutely overjoyed."

Now that Ledecky's Tokyo action is over, let's take a look back at everything she went through over the course of six days. These are only the finals; we haven't even mentioned the preliminary and semifinal heats she had to compete in. In Tokyo, no swimmer completed more laps than Ledecky.

July 26: Ledecky takes silver in the 400 free; this is the first time she hasn't won gold in an individual Olympic event.
July 28: Placed fifth in the 200-meter freestyle.
July 28: Wins gold in the 1,500 freestyle less than 90 minutes after winning the 200 freestyle.
July 29: Wins silver for Team USA in the 4x200 free relay by swimming the last leg — and the quickest split among all swimmers.
On July 31, he wins his third gold medal in a row in the 800 freestyle.

In a six-day period, I won four medals. Ledecky was the only swimmer who competed in both a "sprint" (the 200 free) and a "long" race (the 1,500 free). Consider this: track athletes do not compete in the 100- or 200-meter sprint while also running the 1,500, 5,000, or 10,000 meters.

She's unlike any other Olympian we've ever seen.

Ledecky's achievements, in addition to the fact that she didn't win gold in two of the five events she competed in, have served as a reminder that Olympic excellence may be defined by transcendent domination — as well as flaws that humanize athletes. The Olympics are notable for allowing for non-binary results (rather of having one winner and all losers, three medals are awarded) and forcing sports fans, particularly in the United States, to reassess what constitutes top performance. No one is ever unbeaten in the pool, including Katie Ledecky. But she's unique and unlike anyone else, we've ever seen. She's unbeatable, but she's also one-of-a-kind. And now, with this performance in Tokyo— two additional golds and two further silvers — Ledecky has unmistakably risen to her own level of Olympic glory.

She didn't need to sweep and take five golds to get there. A lesson to be applied.

The best part is it's not over. Ledecky wasn't the force of nature in Tokyo that she was in Rio in 2016, which was clearly her peak. But in the presence of a true foil in Titmus, and with a race regimen that was viciously grueling, Ledecky proved she has no analog.