Katie Ledecky, Erica Sullivan make history with 1-2 finish in 1500-meter freestyle

One hour and 13 minutes after she competed in the 200 free final, Katie Ledecky was back in the water.

This time, it was to win the inaugural women’s 1500-meter freestyle Olympic gold.

The World Record holder, Ledecky had a strong showing, leading from start to finish. Her time of 15:37.34 was just off of her 15:35.35 she swam in prelims to set the Olympic Record in the event.

Teammate Erica Sullivan came back from behind to touch in a time of 15:41.41 to earn the silver medal and secure the 1-2 finish for the Americans in the first-ever 1500-meter freestyle. Third-place finisher Sarah Kohler of Germany broke the German National Record to give Germany its first pool swimming medal since 2008.

Ledecky is back in action Thursday with the prelims of the 800-meter freestyle.