'I'm pretty fired up' - Katie Ledecky After 15:24.51, Closest She's Come To Her World Record
The two-time Olympic champion and only women's 1500m champion since the 30-lengther was introduced for women, Katie Ledecky now owns the top 22 times ever
Katie Ledecky (Bethesda, Md./Gator Swim Club), coached by Anthony Nesty at the Florida Gators, shows no signs of taking her foot off the pedal 13 years after she made her international debut with Olympic 800m free gold at London 2012: at the home Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim meet, she took the 1500m like a hurricane, a 15:24.51 delivering...
- the second fastest time in history
- an all-time list that boasts Ledecky's 22 best swims as the best 22 in history (see top 34 in full below, including the three women who came closest to her)
- the fastest swim in the event since she set the world record in 2018, and she now holds the top 22 times in the event's history.
The first day of the meet also featured a 14:54.49 win for Ledecky's training partner at the Gators, fellow two-times Olympic 1500m freestyle champion and World record holder Bobby Finke (Clearwater, Fla./Saint Petersburg Aquatics).
Ledecky was 40 seconds ahead of next home in her latest 30-length epic.
- Katie Ledecky (Bethesda, Md./Gator Swim Club), 15:24.51
- Jillian Cox (Cedar Park, Texas/Longhorn Aquatics), 16:04.13
- Kate Hurst (Hillsdale, N.J./Longhorn Aquatics), 16:14.26
After getting a meet stacked with Olympic champions and podium placers off to a firework of a start, Ledecky, speaking through USA Swimming, said:
“I'm pretty fired up. I’ve been training really well and feeling good going into this meet, but you never know. It’s not like it’s the biggest meet of the year or anything, I just wanted (my time) to be a season best, which would have been 15:36. I’m pretty ecstatic.”
Ledecky's swim marked the second time she's raced below 15:40 his year, while her continued reign at the helm of 1500m pace setting extends to almost 46 years the bull run of American women who have held sway as the fastest in the world.
The last non-American to hold the 1500m World record was Australian Tracey Wickham, who clocked a then sensational 16:06.63 in Perth on February 25, 1979. That mark stood until August 19 the same year, when Kim Linehan's 16:04.49 began almost half a century of dominance courtesy of just four women.
That History...
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