Despite 800 Free Loss, Katie Ledecky ‘Moving in a Good Direction’ to LA 2028
Katie Ledecky had history on her mind Saturday night, but not the kind you might’ve thought.
The historical frame of reference that most on deck at Irvine’s Woollett Aquatic Center wanted to discuss was Ledecky finally being vanquished in an international 800 freestyle race. Lani Pallister pulled the feat at the Pan Pacific Championships, a wire-to-wire win for the Aussie in 8:06.10 to Ledecky’s 8:07.26.
After finishing second to Pallister in the 400 free and expressing dismay that her winning time in the 1,500 free was only 15:36.06 – 2.5 seconds clear of a game Pallister – the outsider may have expected a down Ledecky.
That’s not what she brought the mixed zone.
“That was definitely my best swim of the week,” Ledecky said. “So I’m actually pretty happy with it. If I was going to get second tonight, I wanted to make it a good one. So, it was a season-best, so you can’t complain with that. I just wanted to make it hard for Lani, and I’m happy that we had some pretty good times.”
Ledecky is not one to argue with the clock, and Saturday night, it said that Pallister was better. The it also has repeatedly relayed to Ledecky times over the 18 months that she, at age 29, has been proud of, that indicate the 14-time Olympic medalist remains a competitor for more international gold.
Never one to get too high or too low on any single swim swim, Ledecky took the long view of her results in Irvine as a stopover on the road to the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
Katie Ledecky; Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
She summed it up as a “not so good” meet. Se was disappointed with her time in the 400 free more so than being defeated by Pallister. Her 1,500 time was just OK, one in which she said, “I don’t want to read too much into the final time. I know I have more in me.” But four not-excellent days – “bad” would be an inaccurate descriptor – in Irvine doesn’t erase the 18 solid months that led up to it.
If there’s a time to have a down meet, she knows this was it.
“If there’s a year to have a not-so-good meet, this is the year to have it,” she said. “So I’m really excited about the next two years, and I’ll reflect over the next couple of weeks about where I can be better. I think I got a lot of good data from this meet and all year.”
Ledecky has vocalized the realization before that her days of setting records might be behind her. Her chase of best times means doing things no human has ever done before. Seeing her 400 free records broken by two people reinforced that.
But it was never one-way decline. Three of her top four times in the 800 came in 800, including lowering the world record to 8:04.12 in May of 2025 at the TYR Pro Swim Series stop in Fort Lauderdale. She put up what was then the No. 7 all-time performance in the 400 free at that meet and has been sub 15:30 four times since setting the Olympic record in Paris at 15:30.02. That includes the No. 2 all-time swim in Austin in January. She’s still capable of sub-4-minute 400 frees, something only seven women in history can say they’ve done.
“It’s been kind of constant since (May 2025), putting up some really good times month by month, from the sub-15 short course last December to 15:23 in January to I think two sub 8:10s this year,” she said. “I feel like I’m moving in a good direction.”
Ledecky has a clear view of herself in the historical context in the second half of her career. Inspiring swimmers like Pallister (or Ariarne Titmus before her and Summer McIntosh concurrently) to reach Ledecky’s times is healthy for the sport and part of her long-term legacy.
Ledecky judges progress relative to herself – to the goals she sets, to the versions of her past self. The appraisal of this meet, over the downtime of the next week weeks, will be no different. And the first glance of that Saturday night offers plenty to be positive about.
“I’ve got to just stay the course and keep working hard,” Ledecky said. “And I know everyone else will too. So it’s just exciting, and I’m eager to see what we can all do over the next few years.”
