Katie Ledecky already dominated one lengthy swimming race in Paris. The American swimming star stole the show in the 1500m freestyle event, beating the field by more than 10 seconds to claim her first gold medal at the 2024 Olympics.
Now, she has a chance to add another gold to her resume in the 800m, which is the second-longest individual event held in the Olympic pool.
The long-distance specialist is out to defend her gold medal in the 800m freestyle. Ledecky is a three-time Olympics champion in the race and is aiming to make it a four-peat when the finals occur on Saturday.
With the women's 800m freestyle set for today, how many laps are in the event? The Sporting News explains the distance that 800 meters is in swimming.
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How many laps is 800 meters in swimming?
When it comes to an Olympic swimming pool, 800 meters equals 16 laps. That means participants have to swim back and forth the full length of the pool a total of eight times to complete the event.
The race typically takes around eight minutes to complete.
800 meters to miles
In total, 800 meters is slightly less than a mile, coming in at 0.497 miles.
The Olympic record for the 800m freestyle is 7:41.28 for men, On the women's side, it's 8:04.79.
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Olympic swimming pool length
An Olympic swimming pool is 50 meters from end to end. That's about 164 feet. The shortest Olympic race is only 50 meters, or one lap.
Two laps is when a swimmer goes from one end of the pool to the other and back. That's the equivalent of 100 meters, or about 328 feet.
