An American swimmer who was inspired by her Jewish grandmother has won her third gold of the Rio Games.

Katie Ledecky secured another victory for the United States in the women's 4x200m freestyle relay final on Wednesday.

In an earlier interview, the 19-year-old had said her Jewish grandmother, Berta, 83, instilled in her the competitive spirit that gave her the drive to succeed.

Her paternal grandmother, who is Czech, once spent a year working as a translator for Albert Einstein at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn.

In an interview with Sports Illustrated in June, Ms Ledecky said when she was 10, her grandmother took her to a Jewish cemetery in Prague to show her graves of her family who died during the Holocaust.

Ms Ledecky, despite being Catholic, said it was one of the experiences that gave her the “fuel” needed in her competitive career.