Pro Swim Series Westmont, Day 1 Finals: Katie Ledecky Swims 8:08.57 to Defeat Summer McIntosh in 800 Freestyle; Leon Marchand Doubles
The Wednesday evening finals session at the USA Swimming Pro Swim Series in Westmont, Ill., opened with a bang as Katie Ledecky and Summer McIntosh faced off in the 800 freestyle for the first time since their incredible race at last summer’s World Championships. On that occasion, Ledecky held off McIntosh and Australian Lani Pallister to earn her record-setting seventh consecutive gold medal in the event despite all three swimmers breaking the championship record.
Later in the session, American-record holders Regan Smith and Kate Douglass picked up victories in the women’s 200 backstroke and 200 breaststroke, respectively. On the men’s side, superstar Leon Marchand recorded an impressive double, taking first in the 200 back before a come-from-behind win in the 200 breast. Also on the docket were the finals of the 50 butterfly and semifinals of the 100 freestyle. Chris Guiliano highlighted the men’s 100 free after he posted a Pro Series record of 47.38 in prelims.
Women’s 800 Freestyle
The highly-anticipated race between Katie Ledecky and Summer McIntosh went to the American once again, Ledecky earning a two-second triumph over McIntosh. Ledecky trailed McIntosh by three hundredths at the 50-meter mark, but she pulled into a small lead by the second turn. After that, Ledecky would keep McIntosh at arm’s length for the first half of the race before finally breaking away in the final 200.
Ledecky touched in 8:08.57, the 13th-fastest performance ever recorded in the event while McIntosh came in second at 8:10.57, which just missed the all-time top-20 performances in the event. Brazil’s Maria Fernanda Costa was well back in third in 8:29.41.
Ledecky, McIntosh and Lani Pallister are the only swimmers in history to break 8:10 in the event. Ledecky has dominated the event internationally since 2012, when she burst onto the scene with a stunning Olympic gold medal. Her only loss over that time came at a local Florida meet in February 2014, when McIntosh picked up an unexpected win. McIntosh did not race the 16-lap event at the Paris Olympics, but she added the race to her main slate in 2025, and she promptly jumped into the elite mix. The event marked her only non-gold medal at the 2025 Worlds, with a bronze to go along with four golds.
Women’s 200 Backstroke
The top American in this event for the better part of the last decade put up an extremely strong time in her first 200 backstroke of the year. Regan Smith swam a time of 2:04.90 to jump to the top of the early world rankings for 2026. Smith was only six tenths behind the 2:04.29 she swam for silver behind Kaylee McKeown at last year’s World Championships. McKeown and Smith are the only two active swimmers to ever go under 2:05.
Smith led the entire way, but a familiar rival swam a great race behind her. Isabelle Stadden stayed close to Smith throughout before finishing second in 2:05.91. Stadden, a former Cal Bear, is a consistent finalist in the backstroke events at major domestic meets, but this was her best time by more than a second, having never before been sub-2:07. Stadden is now the 13th-fastest woman in history in the event and sixth-best among Americans.
Phoebe Bacon, a finalist in the event at the last two Olympics, was third in 2:08.00, followed by Anna Peplowski in fourth (2:08.90).
Men’s 200 Backstroke
Backstroke might be the weakest stroke for the top men’s swimmer in the world, but Leon Marchand still came through for the win against backstroke specialists in the event Wednesday evening. Marchand jumped out to an early advantage and held on to finish in 1:57.56, a little more than a second ahead of Canadian Blake Tierney (1:58.61). Third went to American veteran Kieran Smith (1:59.31).
Women’s 50 Butterfly
Australia’s Lily Price captured the win in a tight race, going 25.84 to surpass Canada’s Taylor Ruck (25.94) by a tenth. Mexico’s Andrea Sansores De La Fuente placed third (26.51).
Men’s 50 Butterfly
Veteran sprinter Michael Andrew got back to his winning ways on the Pro Series circuit with a time of 23.10 in the 50 fly. That time was 0.11 quicker than Andrew swam for second place at last year’s U.S. Nationals, and it was good enough to beat Sean Niewold by three hundredths. The 26-year-old has won a pair of World Championships medals in this event, silver in 2024 and bronze in 2022.
Niewold, a Dutch swimmer now training at Alabama, placed second in 23.13 while Shaine Casas placed a close third in 23.19. Dare Rose, last year’s national champion in the event, ended up fourth (23.52).
Women’s 200 Breaststroke
For all the events where Kate Douglass excels, her best is the 200 breaststroke. Since making her international debut in the event at the 2022 World Championships, she has never missed the podium, and at last year’s World Championships, she swam the second-fastest time ever while dominating Evgeniia Chikunova, the world-record holder. In Westmont, Douglass put forth a time of 2:22.01 for the win.
It was no surprise to see Douglass dominate the competition, and indeed, she finished more than six seconds ahead of anyone else in the field. Canada’s Sophie Angus was next in 2:28.29, and Mexico’s Melissa Rodriguez finished third in 2:31.22.
Men’s 200 Breaststroke
Racing shortly after his victory in the 200 back, Leon Marchand had to come from well off the pace to take this victory in his best stroke. Throughout the race, the lead belonged to Jack Kelly, a former Brown University swimmer now training at Texas alongside Marchand. Kelly was out in 1:01.55, a whopping 1.51 seconds clear of the Frenchman and he remained more than a second up with 50 meters left, but Marchand was too good coming home.
Marchand’s closing speed got him the win in 2:10.06. Josh Matheny, among the top Americans in this event for the past three years, surged home to place second in 2:10.71 while Kelly, following a perfectly-executed 175 meters, fell to third in 2:10.96. Carson Foster, a multi-time global medalist in the 400 IM, placed fourth in 2:11.62.
Women’s 100 Freestyle Semifinals
The top time in the semifinal round belonged to Simone Manuel, the 2016 Olympic co-champion and American-record holder. Manuel clocked 54.01 to lead the way while teenager Rylee Erisman won the second semifinal heat in 54.14. Kate Douglass, fresh off a win in the 200 breast, also advanced.
Men’s 100 Freestyle Semifinals
Following his stellar prelims effort to set a Pro Series record, Chris Guiliano exploded again at night. He had the fastest time in the 100 free semis at 47.54, and he will have one more chance to pursue a personal best Thursday.