FLASH! Katie Ledecky Breaks First Long Course World Record in Seven Years With 8:04.12 800 Free
With performances this weekend at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale, Katie Ledecky brought world records back into the conversation for the first time in years. She had not reached one of her own long course global standards in the distance freestyle races since 2018, but she opened the meet with the second-fastest mark ever in the 1500 freestyle. One day later, she swam the second-quickest mark of her career in the 400 free, coming up just 35-hundredths short of the American record she posted at the Rio Olympics.
And in the 800 free, Ledecky closed the deal. She went out more than a second under world-record pace, and although she fell back, Ledecky remained right on her own pace through the middle portion of the race. Three hundredths quicker entering the final split, Ledecky then accelerated coming down the stretch, splitting 28.46. She hit the wall in 8:04.12, a half-second quicker than her previous record set nine years ago at the Rio Games.
Ledecky’s splits:
Her previous mark of 8:04.79 was one of swimming’s legendary records, seemingly unlikely to be touched for generations, even as Ledecky maintained her unbeaten streak at major meets in the 16-lap event. Now, she has broken the world record for the sixth time. Her previous records in the event came on the following occasions:
- 8:13.86 at the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona, Spain (August 3, 2013)
- 8:11.00 at the 2014 Woodlands Senior Invitational Meet in Shenandoah, Texas (June 22, 2014)
- 8:07.39 at the 2015 World Championships in Kazan, Russia (August 8, 2015)
- 8:06.68 at the 2016 Pro Series in Austin, Texas (January 17, 2016)
- 8:04.79 at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (August 12, 2016)
Ledecky has returned to the record-breaking pedestal almost seven years after her previous world record in any long course event. She was 21 years old when she clocked 15:20.48 in the 1500 free at the Indianapolis Pro Series in May 2018, and now she is 28, having earned eight Olympic medals (four gold) and 11 World Championship medals (seven gold) in the interim.
Ledecky has also broken the same world record 10 years and seven months apart, which is the longest gap between world-record-setting performances in the same event in swimming history. Among her contemporaries, the only swimmers with similar accomplishments are Michael Phelps, who set world records in the 200 butterfly eight times between 2001 and 2009, and Sarah Sjostrom, who swam global marks in the 100 fly in 2009 and 2016.
Ledecky is widely regarded as the greatest female swimmer in history, and this is the event that kicked off her legendary run with surprise victories at both the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials and 2012 Olympics. In the 13 years since, this is the event where Ledecky has won more awards than any other. In the Paris Olympic final, she became the first female swimmer to win four consecutive Olympic titles in one event when she pulled away from Australia’s Ariarne Titmus down the stretch.
Ledecky has also won six world titles in the 800 free, the most notable effort coming at a 2019 meet when she had skipped two events and struggled in others because of illness. In her final chance of the meet, Ledecky won gold by out-lasting a spirited effort from Italy’s Simona Quadarella, who had claimed the 1500 free world title in Ledecky’s absence.
Since emerging on the international scene, Ledecky has lost the event only once, when Canada’s Summer McIntosh took her down at a local meet in Florida last year. McIntosh has since reinforced her status as the second-fastest swimmer in history, going 8:09.86 in February to far surpass the mark Ledecky swam to win Olympic gold last year.
But instead of losing control of her signature event, Ledecky has gone quicker than ever. In recent years, her fastest mark was an 8:07.07 at the 2023 U.S. Nationals, and she clocked 8:08s on the way to world titles in 2022 and 2023. Ledecky owned a monopoly on the top times in history in the 800 free prior to McIntosh’s recent improvement, but this latest world record gives Ledecky the top-10 performances in history and 23 of the 25 quickest times ever.
Coaches and swimmers are waking up with a revelation about Katie Ledecky. She visibly got better every day from the previous great swim the day before. The obvious conclusion was she needed three to four fays more taper. Right this moment she is capable for breaking the 400 record, the 1500 record and lowering the 800 record even more. Am I the only one who got goosebumps watching her swims this meet! I look forwards to her breakthrough summer, she continues to amaze us.