Katie Ledecky finally strikes Tokyo gold in first Olympic women’s 1500m free

• Ledecky and Sullivan finish 1-2 in women's 1500 freestyle
• Fifth individual gold for Ledecky is second only to Phelps (13)
• Australia's Titmus wins 200 free and sets Olympic record
• Great Britain cruise to gold medal in 4x200m freestyle relay

So outlandish is it that a swimmer could battle for medals in both a sprint and a slog that the scheduling in the 200m and 1500m freestyle did Katie Ledecky no favours. There was little more than an hour between the two finals.

But few athletes have such deep stocks of stamina and determination, and given how the 200m worked out, perhaps the brevity of the gap even helped her. That way there was little time to ruminate on one of the most dissatisfying swims of her career.