Katie Ledecky Beats 3:59 in 400 Free For Amazing World Record

Editorial coverage for U.S. Senior Nationals proudly sponsored by Master Spas!

IRVINE, California, August 9. NCAP’s Katie Ledecky got the crowd going at the USA Swimming Senior Nationals as she blasted her way to a world record in the women’s 400-meter freestyle.

Ledecky raced her way to a 3:58.86 to win the middle distance event, and down Federica Pellegrini’s world record (3:59.15) and her own American record (3:59.82) as she blasted through the 3:59 barrier.

Ledecky, who already holds the world records in the 800 (8:11.00) and 1500 (15:34.23) freestyle events, becomes the first swimmer to hold all three records at the same time since Janet Evans did so in 1987. Prior to Evans, Tracy Wickham of Australia held all three in 1978. Other 400-800-1500 simultaneous world record holders include Ilsa Konrads (1960), Debbie Meyer (1967) and Shane Gould (1971) as Ledecky joins an incredibly elite set of swimmers.

Comparative Splits

Ledecky World record:

28.03, 57.74 (29.71), 1:27.67 (29.93), 1:57.72 (30.05), 2:27.95 (30.23), 2:58.40 (30.45), 3:29.41 (31.01), 3:58.86 (29.45)

Ledecky U.S. Open record:

28.25, 58.25 (30.00), 1:28.40 (30.15), 1:58.59 (30.19), 2:29.35 (30.76), 2:59.79 (30.44), 3:30.20 (30.41), 3:59.89 (29.69)

Pellegrini:

28.45, 58.66 (30.31), 1:28.97 (30.31), 1:59.42 (30.45), 2:29.66 (30.24), 2:59.93 (30.27), 3:29.79 (29.86), 3:59.15 (29.36)

Ledecky American record:

28.05, 58.12 (30.07), 1:28.25 (30.13), 1:58.74 (30.49), 2:28.85 (30.11), 2:59.29 (30.44), 3:29.94 (30.65), 3:59.82 (29.88)

Congrats @katieledecky! World records in 400, 800, and 1500. Perfection! I am very proud of you.

— Janet Evans (@janetevans) August 10, 2014

Ledecky was swimming against herself as NBAC’s Cierra Runge took second in a 4:04.67 to vault to eighth in the world, while Cavalier’s Leah Smith placed third in 4:06.28.

BlueFish’s Elizabeth Beisel (4:07.46), NBAC’s Becca Mann (4:07.92), Badger’s Lindsay Vrooman (4:09.38), NBAC’s Gillian Ryan (4:11.19) and Aggie’s Sarah Henry (4:12.15) also swam in the historic heat.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use