Katie Ledecky Jul 31, 2024; Nanterre, France; Katie Ledecky (USA) in the women’s 1,500-meter freestyle medal ceremony during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Paris La Défense Arena. Mandatory Credit: Grace Hollars-USA TODAY Sports

Team USA swimmer Katie Ledecky stole the show on Wednesday in the Women’s 1500-meter freestyle final, winning her eighth career gold medal and 12th total Olympic medal. And as you may expect, many networks reported on the event. And pretty much every network did so more accurately than ESPN.

ESPN posted on X numerous times about Ledecky’s victory, one of which comparing the number of medals that she has won to Michael Phelps, the athlete with the most medals in the history of the Olympics.

The only problem is that ESPN incorrectly stated in the post that Phelps had 23 career medals.

Phelps actually has 28 total Olympic medals, 23 of which were gold medals which is probably where ESPN made the mistake.

The mistake was picked up by those who saw the post on X, which promptly led to the post getting a context warning with the correct information below it on the site.

Still, Ledecky’s legacy as one of the best distance swimmers in the history of the Olympics certainly seems to be solidified. Especially when you consider she owns the 20 fastest times recorded in the women’s 1500-meter freestyle, with this most recent time of 15:30:02 being just her eighth fastest time.

[ESPN on X]

About Reice Shipley

Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.