Hanging with the leaders at the 150-metre turn, Ledecky fended off Sweden's Sarah Sjöström towards a gold-medal finish in 1:53.73.

[2][3] Despite trying to hold on Ledecky at the final lap, Sjöström was unable to catch her near the wall, and settled for the silver in 1:54.08.

[5][6] Italy's world-record holder Federica Pellegrini dropped off the podium for the second straight Olympics to fourth in 1:55.18, charging a 0.07-second edge ahead of China's Shen Duo and McKeon's countrywoman Bronte Barratt, bronze medalist from London 2012, both of whom shared the fifth-place time with a matching 1:55.25.

[6] Sjöström's teammate Michelle Coleman grabbed the penultimate spot of the top eight in 1:56.27, with France's Charlotte Bonnet (1:56.29) narrowly trailing her by 0.02 of a second to round out the field.

[5] Notable swimmers missed the final roster, including four-time Olympic gold medalist Missy Franklin, who tied for thirteenth with Hong Kong's Siobhán Haughey (1:57.56) in the semifinals.