Ledecky wins 4th gold at worlds

Ledecky wins 4th gold at worlds

Published Aug. 3, 2013 1:00 a.m. ET

Katie Ledecky capped a brilliant world swimming championships with her fourth gold medal and second world record Saturday.

The 16-year-old American turned it on over the final laps to win the 800-meter freestyle in 8 minutes, 13.86 seconds. She powered to the wall like it was a sprint, not the last of 16 laps.

Lotte Friis of Denmark set the early pace but simply couldn't keep up when Ledecky turned it on, a repeat of their race in the 1,500 where the teenager broke the previous record by more than 6 seconds.

This time, Ledecky took down the mark of 8:14.10 set by Britain's Rebecca Adlington at the 2008 Olympics. Friis settled for another silver, and New Zealand's Lauren Boyle claimed the bronze -- the same order as in the 1,500.

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