U.S. Nationals: Katie Ledecky Clocks Sixth-Fastest Time Ever in 1500 Freestyle

Katie Ledecky -- Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

U.S. Nationals: Katie Ledecky Clocks Sixth-Fastest Time Ever in 1500 Freestyle

Watching Katie Ledecky compete in the 1500 freestyle, arguably her best event of the many different distances in which she has won world titles and Olympic gold medals, can best be described as masterful. Her best time in the event is 18 seconds faster than anybody else in history. And in each of her many swims that dominate the all-time list in the event, Ledecky swam the race by herself, with no one to push her to greater heights.

The final heat of the 1500 free at U.S. Nationals was a prototypical Ledecky swim, the outcome never in doubt after she led by a half-second after the first 50 and one second at the 100-meter mark. She out-split every other swimmer in the race on all 30 lengths of the race, and gradually, she built a lead that reached almost 50 meters. Only one other swimmer in the field had even turned for home before Ledecky touched the wall in 15:29.64.

Ledecky’s time was by far the quickest in the world so far, eight seconds faster than her previous top time of 15:37.99 from the Knoxville Pro Swim Series in January (a mark which was already quicker than any other woman in history). The time ranks as the sixth-fastest performance ever and the fastest time Ledecky has recorded since before the COVID-19 pandemic began, a fact she announced after the race to the crowd in the Indiana University Natatorium to rousing applause.

Ledecky got off to a strong start this week at Nationals with her win in the 800 free, where she swam the third-fastest mark ever and her fastest in seven years. But in the 200 and 400-meter races, Ledecky could not match her season-best times, and she ended up a surprising second place in the 200 free. So this mile was a rebound performance that left Ledecky slightly confused why her shorter races did not match up but still quite pleased with her week as a whole.

“I was definitely most pleased with my 800 and mile,” Ledecky said. “The 400 and 200 were a little off from what I was hoping to be here this week, but I think I can learn from it, whether it’s a recovery thing or it’s that the 800 and 1500 are just what’s there right now. I think we can be better in a couple weeks and also with the longer meet, you get a little more rest. I’m excited for the next couple weeks. I know I have some work to do. Overall, pretty happy.”

When she races in Fukuoka, Ledecky will take on one of the toughest challenges of her career when she faces Summer McIntosh and Ariarne Titmus in the 400 free, but she will be the overwhelming gold-medal favorite in the 800 and 1500-meter races. In the 800 free, she could become the first swimmer ever to win six consecutive world titles in one race, and the 1500 could be a fifth title, with the only blemish coming in 2019 when illness forced Ledecky to withdraw from the final.

Distance swimming is hardly considered glamorous, and at age 26, Ledecky is older than the vast majority of her competitors nationally and internationally. But she keeps pushing forward in these longer races because of her passion for the process of becoming great and her desire to push boundaries.

“I think (my motivation is) just simply to try to be the best that I can be,” Ledecky said. “I love the training every day. I love trying to push myself and trying to do things in training that I’ve never done before and hope that carries over to races. Just enjoying the day-to-day just keeps me motivated to come to these meets and try to enjoy the meets and put together great races. It’s really satisfying to be able to put together some good races and feel good in the water.”

As usual in a Ledecky distance race, the other swimmers were aiming for second place, and there were world-class performers on hand, woman who rival or surpass what anyone else globally can attain. Katie Grimes won silver behind Ledecky at last year’s World Championships while Erica Sullivan was the silver medalist behind Ledecky at the Tokyo Olympics. Kensey McMahon was the NCAA champion in the 1650-yard free, and Claire Weinstein upset Ledecky earlier in the week in the 200 free.

Grimes quickly distinguished herself from the field competing for second, but McMahon fought back, out-splitting Grimes for much of the race, but Grimes again pulled away over the final 500 meters to secure a return trip to Worlds. It has not been a perfect week for Grimes, who faded to fifth in the 800 free and missed the A-final in the 400 free, but she has successfully qualified for Fukuoka in her two best events, the mile plus the 400 IM.

Grimes finished in 15:58.34, well off her best time of 15:44.89 that she swam at the World Championships but good for sixth in the world this year. Aside from Ledecky, no one has eclipsed 15:50 so far in 2023, so Grimes will absolutely be in the medal hunt in Fukuoka. McMahon placed third in 16:07.78, a best time by more than eight seconds.

Sullivan, racing at a selection meet for the first time since qualifying for the Olympics two years ago, placed fourth in 16:16.94, while Jillian Cox, the runnerup behind Ledecky in the 800 free, posted the top time in the afternoon heats and ended up fifth in 16:18.40.

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