{"id":122753,"date":"2015-02-10T14:39:34","date_gmt":"2015-02-10T21:39:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=122753"},"modified":"2015-06-15T11:43:16","modified_gmt":"2015-06-15T18:43:16","slug":"performance-week-new-500-free-strategy-pays-katie-ledecky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/performance-week-new-500-free-strategy-pays-katie-ledecky\/","title":{"rendered":"Performance of the Week: New 500 Free Strategy Pays Off For Katie Ledecky"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photo Courtesy: Griffin Scott<\/p>\n

BOYDS – Katie Ledecky is famous for her aggressive pacing during her distance freestyle races, taking the race out so fast that her splits at 200 yards would often win or place very high in the actual 200-yard event.<\/p>\n

At last weekend’s DC Metro championships, Ledecky experimented with a new racing strategy in the prelims of the 500 freestyle, and she was rewarded with an American record<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ledecky turned at 250 yards in 2:12.96, about nine tenths off her record pace. Usually, Ledecky would be a full second faster<\/i> than the pace at the beginning, and hold on in the final stretch. This time, Ledecky nearly even-split the race, posting a 2:13.62 in the second 250 yards.<\/p>\n

The result was a two-second improvement on her record — and a 25.95 in the final 50 yards. Ledecky had something in the tank, though it’s not likely she had much more to give. Ledecky had a similar game plan last summer in the 1500 freestyle at the Pan Pacific championships, holding back a bit in the first half of the race before shifting into another gear by the 900-meter mark.<\/p>\n

Perhaps we’ll see Ledecky employ this strategy in the distance freestyles at the world championships. Perhaps a negative-split world record is in her future? That’s how the great Janet Evans swam her incredible 4:03.85 at the 1988 Olympics.<\/p>\n

Katie Ledecky 500 free American Record Race Footage<\/h2>\n