15-year-old swimmer Katie Ledecky of Bethesda, Md. was the youngest member of Team USA entering the 2012 Summer Olympics. On Friday evening, the rising high school sophomore became the youngest gold medal winner at the Games, winning the 800m women's freestyle.
Swimming against a field that included defending Olympic champion and world record holder Rebecca Adlington of Great Britain, Ledecky made it home in a time of 8:14.63, just short of the world record, but enough to set a new American mark. Mirea Belmonte Garcia of Spain took the silver medal, finishing 4.13 seconds behind Ledecky. Adlington took bronze finishing a further 1.56 seconds behind Belmonte Garcia.
The race can be seen as part of NBC's primetime television coverage, beginning at 8 p.m. Friday night.
For a complete schedule of events and dates medals will be awarded, visit NBC Sports' official Olympic website. For complete coverage from the 2012 London Olympics, keep checking this StoryStream and visit SB Nation's Olympics hub.