2020 Tokyo Olympics live updates: Katie Ledecky gets first gold at Games with 1,500-meter freestyle win

Ledecky was the heavy favorite to win the 1,500-meter freestyle and lived up to the expectations

Team USA excels when it comes to swimming, but one of the biggest names in U.S. swimming did not win gold until Tuesday night. American swimming titan Katie Ledecky -- who lost her first two medal races in Tokyo to Australia's Ariarne Titmus -- won her first gold at the 2020 Olympics on Tuesday in the first 1,500-meter women's freestyle final in the history of the Summer Games.

Ledecky won the race with a time of 15:37.34. Fellow American Erica Sullivan -- swimming in her first ever Olympics -- took silver.

Just over an hour before the 1,500-meter freestyle final win, Ledecky took part in the 200-meter freestyle. She failed to reach the podium in that event, finishing fifth, while Titmus won gold.

TItmus has had the American's number in Tokyo so far. Earlier in the week, Ledecky participated in her first final of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but didn't have the performance that she had hoped for. On Sunday, Ledecky won a silver medal in the 400-meter freestyle (an event she won at the 2016 Games in Rio) as she was edged out by -- you guessed it --  Titmus, who had a time of 3:56.69. Ledecky finished just behind Titmus with a time of 3:57.36.

Here are some quick recaps of the other races from a swimming-packed Olympics night.

Men's 4 x 200-meter freestyle relay

The U.S. team of Kieran Smith, Drew Kibler, Zach Apple and Townley Haas finished fourth and just out of medal position with a time of 7:02:43. Heavy favorites Britain won gold -- its first since 1908 -- while the Russian Olympic Committee and Australia took silver and bronze, respectively. This was the first time Team USA failed to make a relay podium in Olympic history. On the NBC broadcast of the event, Michael Phelps questioned U.S. swimming's decision to not include Caeleb Dressel in this race.

Women's 200-meter individual medley

Japan's Yui Ohashi (2:08.52) passed Alex Walsh in the final 50 meters to win gold in a thrilling women's 200-meter individual medley final. The Americans Walsh (2:08.65) and Kate Douglass (2:09.04) earned silver and bronze medals, respectively.

Men's 200-meter butterfly

Hungary's Kristof Milak shattered Michael Phelps' record in the men's 200-meter butterfly final en route to his country's second gold medal. Milak's 1:51:25 was over two tenths of a second faster than Phelps' 1:51:51. 

[Jul 27, 2021 at 11:45 pm ET · Wajih AlBaroudi]

Shocking defeat for Team USA in the men's relay. It's the first time in history the country's men's or women's team failed to reach the podium in the event.

[Jul 27, 2021 at 11:24 pm ET · Wajih AlBaroudi]

Final race of the night: the men's 4 x 200-meter freestyle relay. A win here would be two straight in the event for the U.S.

[Jul 27, 2021 at 11:17 pm ET · Wajih AlBaroudi]

Katie Ledecky -- as expected -- dominated the women's 1,500-meter freestyle with a time of 15:37.34, gaining a lead from the onset and never coming close to relinquishing it. Fellow American Erica Sullivan won silver with an impressive 15:41.41.

[Jul 27, 2021 at 11:02 pm ET · Wajih AlBaroudi]

The first ever women's 1,500-meter freestyle is underway, with the favorite Katie Ledecky well ahead of the pack through nine lengths.

[Jul 27, 2021 at 10:54 pm ET · Wajih AlBaroudi]

Japan's Yui Ohashi (2:08.52) passes Alex Walsh in the final 50 meters to win gold in a thrilling women's 200-meter individual medley final. The Americans Walsh (2:08.65) and Kate Douglass (2:09.04) earned silver and bronze medals, respectively.

[Jul 27, 2021 at 10:38 pm ET · Wajih AlBaroudi]

Fink, whose time ranked fourth, is officially headed to the 200-meter breaststroke final.

[Jul 27, 2021 at 10:28 pm ET · Wajih AlBaroudi]

Nic Fink (2:08:00) finishes second in the men's 200-meter breaststroke semifinal, giving him a strong shot to compete in the final. We'll know definitively after the second heat.

[Jul 27, 2021 at 10:16 pm ET · Wajih AlBaroudi]

Michael Phelps' men's 200-meter butterfly record has been broken. Hungary's Kristof Milak posted a gold medal-winning time of 1:51.25, shattering Phelps' 1:51:51.

[Jul 27, 2021 at 10:05 pm ET · Wajih AlBaroudi]

Impressive showing from Hali Flickinger (2:06.23) and Regan Smith (2:06.64), who finished 1-2 in women's 200-meter butterfly semifinal. The U.S. has a good chance of getting a medal-winner out of one or two of them in this event.

[Jul 27, 2021 at 9:57 pm ET · Wajih AlBaroudi]

Gunnar Bentz finishes seventh and well out of medal position in the men's 200-meter butterfly final with a time of 1:55.46.

[Jul 27, 2021 at 9:49 pm ET · Wajih AlBaroudi]

An absolute stunner: Katie Ledecky (1:55.21) finishes fifth in the women's 200-meter freestlye final. Australian Australian Ariarne Titmus, who took gold over Ledecky in the women's 400-meter final, placed first with a time of 1:53.50.

[Jul 27, 2021 at 9:43 pm ET · Wajih AlBaroudi]

And just like that...Dressel's record is broken. Russian Kliment Kolesnikov posted a 47.11 in the second heat, setting up for an exciting final match-up between the two.

[Jul 27, 2021 at 9:36 pm ET · Wajih AlBaroudi]

Caleb Dressel places first in the men's 100-meter semifinal with a time of 47.23 -- the fastest this year. A win in the final would be his second gold of the 2021 Games and fourth overall.

[Jul 27, 2021 at 8:42 pm ET · Wajih AlBaroudi]

Katie Ledecky leads off a stacked night of Olympic swimming with the 200-meter freestyle final at 9:41 p.m. Eastern. Follow along as we cover that and the four other finals taking place tonight at the Tokyo Aquatics Center.