{"id":324797,"date":"2018-08-09T11:30:16","date_gmt":"2018-08-09T18:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=324797"},"modified":"2019-06-06T09:44:57","modified_gmt":"2019-06-06T16:44:57","slug":"taylor-ruck-stuns-with-200-free-gold-at-pan-pacs-katie-ledecky-bronze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/taylor-ruck-stuns-with-200-free-gold-at-pan-pacs-katie-ledecky-bronze\/","title":{"rendered":"Taylor Ruck Stuns With 200 Free Gold at Pan Pacs, Katie Ledecky Bronze (RACE VIDEO)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Canadian teenage sensation\u00a0Taylor Ruck\u00a0<\/strong>has been on a huge high in 2018. She won the Commonwealth Games gold in the 200 free in April with her 1:54.81 in Australia, and she just took down perhaps the greatest swimmer ever in\u00a0Katie Ledecky\u00a0<\/strong>in the 200 free on the first night of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Tokyo. Ruck, just 18, had the second fastest time in the world behind the seemingly invincible\u00a0Ledecky.<\/p>\n

Ledecky got her Pan Pacs started with a win in the 800 free<\/a>. She was off her best time but she still was on form and it was looking unlikely she would be challenged this week. Last year’s defeat<\/a> at the World Championships seemed to be a fluke.<\/p>\n

Ruck went out fast in the 200 free with Ledecky right with her, but the future Stanford Cardinal held her own and actually pulled away a bit from the Olympic Champion on the last 50.<\/p>\n

Ruck won the gold medal with a 1:54.44 for a new meet record. Ledecky set that meet record this morning with a 1:55.16. Ledecky ended up fading to bronze with Japan’s\u00a0Rikako Ikee\u00a0<\/strong>finishing in second at 1:54.85. Ledecky finished in third at 1:55.15.<\/p>\n

Ruck and Ikee both broke their national records, with Ruck lowering her 1:54.81 and Ikee lowering her own 1:55.04 from earlier this year.<\/p>\n

Ruck now has the world’s fastest time with her 1:54.44. She moved ahead of Ledecky’s 1:54.56 from Santa Clara as Ikee is now tied for third with Australian\u00a0Ariarne Titmus<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Ruck is also now fifth all-time in the 200 free with Ikee now tied for eleventh.<\/p>\n

Allison Schmitt\u00a0<\/strong>(1:56.71),\u00a0Kayla Sanchez\u00a0<\/strong>(1:57.23),\u00a0Mikkayla Sheridan\u00a0<\/strong>(1:57.48),\u00a0Chihiro Igarashi\u00a0<\/strong>(1:57.83) and\u00a0Brianna Throssell\u00a0<\/strong>(1:59.26) also competed in the A-Final.<\/p>\n

2018 World Rankings:<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. Taylor Ruck<\/strong>, CAN, 1:54.44<\/em><\/li>\n
  2. Katie Ledecky<\/strong>, USA, 1:54.56<\/li>\n
  3. Ariarne Titmus<\/strong>, AUS, 1:54.85<\/li>\n
  4. Rikako Ikee<\/strong>, JPN, 1:54.85<\/em><\/li>\n
  5. Charlotte Bonnet<\/strong>, FRA, 1:54.95<\/li>\n
  6. Allison Schmitt<\/strong>, USA, 1:55.82<\/li>\n
  7. Veronika Popova<\/strong>, RUS, 1:56.07<\/li>\n
  8. Femke Heemskerk<\/strong>, NED, 1:56.11<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    All-Time Rankings:<\/h3>\n
      \n
    1. Federica Pellegrini<\/strong>, ITA, 1:52.98 (2009)<\/li>\n
    2. Allison Schmitt<\/strong>, USA, 1:53.61 (2012)<\/li>\n
    3. Katie Ledecky<\/strong>, USA, 1:53.73 (2016)<\/li>\n
    4. Sarah Sjostrom<\/strong>, SWE, 1:54.08 (2016)<\/li>\n
    5. Taylor Ruck<\/strong>, CAN, 1:54.44 (2018)<\/em><\/li>\n
    6. Camille Muffat<\/strong>, FRA, 1:54.66 (2012)<\/li>\n
    7. Femke Heemskerk<\/strong>, NED, 1:54.68 (2015)<\/li>\n
    8. Missy Franklin<\/strong>, USA, 1:54.81 (2013)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \"200-free-women\"

      Photo Courtesy:<\/p><\/div>\n