Katie Ledecky won gold in the 800-meter freestyle. She was 11 seconds ahead of the silver medalist. Katie Ledecky won gold in the 800-meter freestyle. She was 11 seconds ahead of the silver medalist. She was 11 seconds ahead of the silver medalist. Katie Ledecky won gold in the 800-meter freestyle.

Katie Ledecky ended her Rio Games by crushing the field in the 800-meter freestyle, winning by an astonishing 11.38 seconds. In beating Jazz Carlin of Britain, she added another individual gold medal to the ones she won in the 200- and 400-meter freestyle races.

In the 800, 11.38 seconds is an eternity. It’s enough time to get bored. It’s an awkwardly long hug. As silly as it sounds, we made a timer that counts down from 11.38 to help you grasp how long it is. Press the button and imagine you’re Katie Ledecky. You’ve just set a world record and you’re waiting to see who will join you on the Olympic podium. Give it a try.

START COUNTDOWN

Historically, it’s the second-largest margin of victory in the 800-meter freestyle: Debbie Meyer won by 11.7 seconds in 1968. Ledecky nearly matched that margin, but she did it at a much faster speed – her time was about 80 seconds faster than Meyer’s was in Mexico City.

The tables below show just how long the winner had to wait for the silver medalist to finish in each of these freestyle events.

How long the winner waited for her closest competitor to finish in the ...

In the 400- and 800-meter freestyle, Ledecky is racing at world-record speeds and beating her opponents by larger margins than her predecessors did decades earlier.

200-meter Freestyle

Ledecky won by .35 seconds 2nd place Ledecky won by .35 seconds 2nd place

In the closest finish of her three individual finals, Ledecky won by only 35 hundredths of a second, barely edging out Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden.

400-meter Freestyle

2nd place Ledecky won by 4.77 seconds 2nd place Ledecky won by 4.77 seconds

Ledecky beat her own world record by nearly two seconds, finishing in a blistering 3 minutes 56.46 seconds. Her final 50 meters was covered in only 28.92. “I just let it all out,” she said.

800-meter Freestyle

Ledecky won by 11.38 seconds 2nd place Ledecky won by 11.38 seconds 2nd place