Katie Ledecky Swims Second-Fastest 1500 Freestyle in History at Austin Pro Series
In her first competitive outing of the year, Katie Ledecky has made yet another mark in swimming’s history book. Over the years, Ledecky has historically unleashed amazing times in competitions throughout the season, including breaking world records at Pro Series meets. She was not far off another world record Wednesday evening in Austin at the first stop of USA Swimming’s Pro Series.
In the fastest heat of the women’s 1500 freestyle, Ledecky effectively swam by herself, lapping every other competitor in the field by her final length as she won by more than a minute. Ledecky flipped at the 800-meter mark in 8:13.09, quicker than the first world record she set in the 800 free back in 2013, and after that, each 50 split was under 31 seconds.
She ended up swimming between one and two seconds behind her own world-record pace for most of the race, and an acceleration down the stretch allowed Ledecky to record the second-fastest time in history. Ledecky clocked 15:23.21, within three seconds of the all-time best of 15:20.48 she posted in 2018. Ledecky surpassed the 15:24.51 she swam at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Series last year for the No. 2 spot.
It was her 10th time breaking 15:30, which no other woman has ever accomplished, and she currently holds the 12 fastest performances in history and 24 of the top-25 swims. Only Simona Quadarella, whose massive European record at this summer’s World Championships earned her silver, comes close to breaking up Ledecky’s stranglehold. This latest effort is more than 8.5 seconds ahead of Quadarella’s best and 15.5 seconds ahead of Lotte Friis, who still sits in the third spot all-time.
In the race in Austin, teenager Brinkleigh Hansen swam in second place for the entire race, and she touched in 16:31.31. Veteran Becca Mann placed third in 16:35.09.
