Katie Ledecky earns gold for United States in Olympic pool

American Katie Ledecky stands on the podium after winning a gold medal in the women’s 1,500-meter freestyle final at the 2024 Summer Olympics on Wednesday in Nanterre, France. (AP photo)

PARIS — Katie Ledecky gritted her teeth and flexed her left arm atop the lane rope.

There was plenty of splashing, too, by one of the most accomplished swimmers to ever dive into the pool.

Ledecky dominated the 1,500-meter freestyle at the Paris Games on Wednesday for her eighth Olympic gold medal and 12th medal overall.

And that might not even have been the most impressive performance on a big night in the pool.

France’s Léon Marchand completed one of the most audacious doubles in swimming history by winning the 200 butterfly and the 200 breaststroke about two hours apart.

There was also a world record in the 100 freestyle as Pan Zhanle of China lowered his own mark.

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Triathlon success

An ambitious plan to clean up the long-polluted Seine River paid off when the swimming portions of the Paris Olympics triathlons were finally held in the waterway Wednesday.

After a couple of canceled swim practices and a day’s delay because of the river’s water quality, the women’s and men’s events finished in spectacular fashion — on the Pont Alexandre III bridge with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

“It’s magical,” said newly minted gold medalist Cassandre Beaugrand of France. “It’s the best route we’ve had in a long time and I know all the other athletes feel the same.”

Beaugrand navigated slippery roads that turned the cycling portion into a series of spills following an early morning rain.

The men’s triathlon, which started less than an hour after the women finished, there was plenty of stifling heat and humidity to deal with as the sun came out in full force. Alex Yee of Britain used a burst at the end to catch and pass Hayden Wilde of New Zealand to win the gold medal by six seconds.

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Guatemala’s gold

A spinal injury ended Adriana Ruano’s Olympic dream as a gymnast. She came back as a shooter and won Guatemala’s first Olympic gold medal.

Ruano was training for the 2011 world championships in gymnastics, a qualifier for the London Olympics the following year, when she felt pain in her back.

An MRI showed the then-16-year-old had six damaged vertebrae — a career-ending injury — and Ruano’s doctor recommended she take up shooting if she wanted to stay in sports without aggravating her injured back.

That advice paid off Wednesday as Ruano won gold in the women’s trap with an Olympic-record score of 45 out of 50.

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Djokovic still chasing gold

Novak Djokovic is three wins away from earning the only big title he lacks.

Djokovic needed a bit of time to assert himself before taking control with a five-game run for a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Dominik Koepfer of Germany, reaching the singles quarterfinals for the fourth time at the Summer Games.

A gold medal is pretty much the only accomplishment of significance missing from the resume of Djokovic, a 37-year-old from Serbia who has won a men’s-record 24 Grand Slam titles and spent more weeks at No. 1 than anyone in the history of the computerized tennis rankings.

Djokovic next faces Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Rafael Nadal’s Paris Games ended when he and Carlos Alcaraz were eliminated in the men’s doubles quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-4 loss to the fourth-seeded American duo of Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram.