Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps Dominate Rio Olympics 2016 Swimming Contests

U.S. swimmers Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps each cruised to gold medal victories at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday, with Ledecky picking up her second gold of the Olympics in the 200-meter freestyle relay race and Phelps securing the 20th and 21st gold medals of his career in the 200-meter butterfly and 4x200 freestyle relay.

With her victory, Ledecky comes closer to her goal of winning all three distance (200, 400 and 800 meter) freestyle races, having only the 800 meter race between her and matching a feat last performed by Debbie Meyer in 1968, according to the New York Times.

Phelps' victories at the age of 31 makes him the "oldest individual gold medalist in Olympic swimming history," according to ESPN's SportsCenter:

As noted by the Times, Phelps' pose after the butterfly relay had an undeniable message: "I'll take all comers." Then he up and won another medal slightly over an hour later.

NPR's Greg Myre also wrote the Phelps victory "[exacts] revenge in the 200-meter butterfly against South Africa's Chad le Clos, who forced Phelps to settle for a rare silver four years ago."

Earlier in the day, the U.S. women's gymnastics team set the largest lead in the women's all-around gymnastics competition since 1960, beating closest competitor Russia by eight points.