{"id":147357,"date":"2015-08-02T01:40:44","date_gmt":"2015-08-02T08:40:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=147357"},"modified":"2015-08-02T01:40:44","modified_gmt":"2015-08-02T08:40:44","slug":"katie-ledecky-paces-400-free-prelims-with-easy-speed-401-at-2015-fina-world-championships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/katie-ledecky-paces-400-free-prelims-with-easy-speed-401-at-2015-fina-world-championships\/","title":{"rendered":"Katie Ledecky Paces 400 Free Prelims With Easy Speed 4:01 at 2015 FINA World Championships"},"content":{"rendered":"

In quite possibly the easiest 4:01 ever seen in the history of the sport, USA’s Katie Ledecky<\/strong> cruised through prelims of the women’s 400-meter freestyle at the 2015 FINA World Championships.<\/p>\n

Ledecky, who astonished the world last summer with a stunning world record of 3:58.37 at the 2015 Pan Pacific Championships, put the world on notice that more of the same could be coming tonight with a relaxed 4:01.73.<\/p>\n

Splits<\/strong><\/p>\n[table \u201c\u201d not found \/]
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Ledecky, who already leads the world with a 4:00.47 from the Austin stop of the Arena Pro Swim Series, is looking to defend her 2013 title where she won in 3:59.82.<\/p>\n

Australia’s Jessica Ashwood<\/strong> qualified second today in 4:04.47 to move to fourth in the world rankings.<\/p>\n

The Netherlands’ Sharon Van Rouwendaal<\/strong> qualified third in 4:05.02 for seventh in the world.<\/p>\n

New Zealand’s Lauren Boyle<\/strong> (4:05.53), Hungary’s Boglarka Kapas<\/strong> (4:06.21), Great Britain’s Jaz Carlin<\/strong> (4:07.15), Italy’s Diletta Carli<\/strong> (4:07.15) and Spain’s Melani Costa<\/strong> (4:07.58) also made the finale.<\/p>\n

USA’s Cierra Runge<\/strong> just missed finals with a ninth-place 4:07.97.<\/p>\n

SCHEDULED EVENTS<\/strong><\/p>\n