With world records in five different events through the first 48 hours of competition at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, choosing the performance of the week was no easy task. Ultimately, it was Katie Ledecky’s 400 freestyle that deserved the recognition, with the nineteen year old lowering her own world record by nearly two full seconds to continue to establish her absolute dominance in the event.
Setting an Olympic record in prelims in typical Ledecky fashion, the teenager came into the Olympic final as the top seed with a 3:58.71 that was just off her world record and already ahead of her world leading time from the U.S. Olympic Trials. Leading the race from start to finish, Ledecky was under world record pace the entire time, splitting 57.01, 1:00.06, 1:00.51, and 58.84 by 100’s to best the field by nearly five full seconds. Closest to her was Great Britain’s Jazz Carlin, who grabbed silver (4:01.23) over the USA’s Leah Smith (4:01.92). That also made Ledecky the first American woman to win the event since the 2000 Sydney Olympics when Brooke Bennett took home the gold.
This the biggest chunk that Ledecky has taken off of the world record, and what truly makes this swim legendary is how it has cemented her dominance in the event. The American now owns 9 of the top 10 fastest times in history, with the lone remaining time being Federica Pelligrini’s 3:59.15 from the 2009 World Championships that was swum in a now banned bodysuit. That is unprecedented, especially considering no other female swimmer has been under 4:00 in a textile suit. With this win, Ledecky also continues her amazing streak of remaining undefeated in individual events in international competition.
Congratulations Katie Ledecky on earning Swimming World’s Performance of the Week!