US swimmer Katie Ledecky breaks world record in 1,500-meter freestyle at FINA Swimming World Cup
No rest for the record-breaker! Katie Ledecky breaks the 1,500-meter world record by nearly 10 SECONDS at the Swimming World Cup – then immediately says she’s ‘back to work’ for her next event
- The 10-time Olympic medalist finished the short-course event in 15:08.24
- That’s nearly 10 seconds shorter than the previous record set at 15:18.01 in 2019
- The Stanford swimmer finished 40 seconds ahead of runner up, Beatriz Dizotti
- Ledecky was also just second short from breaking the 800m world record at 7:59
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American swimmer Katie Ledecky set a world record in the 1,500-meter freestyle on Saturday night in what was, incredibly, her first competitive event of the season at this week’s FINA Swimming World Cup.
The 10-time Olympic medalist, who won her first gold medal as a 15-year-old in her international debut at the 2012 London Olympic Games, finished in 15:08.24, nearly 10 seconds off the previous record set by Germany’s Sarah Wellbrock (15:18.01) in 2019.
‘I knew that record was within reach just based on some things I’ve done in training, especially my distance stuff (as it) has felt really good this fall,’ Ledecky said from Toronto’s Pan Am Sports Centre. ‘So I felt locked into the pace.’
Katie Ledecky set a world record after winning the Woman’s 1500m race in Toronto, Saturday
Ledecky’s record broke the previous one set by Germany’s Sarah Wellbrock (15:18.01) in 2019
The former Stanford swimmer was in a league of her own from the start, obliterating her opponents, as she finished 40 seconds ahead of second place Beatriz Dizotti, of Brazil.
After touching the wall and taking off her cap and goggles, she seemed to have been in agony, but that didn’t stop the crowd from giving her a loud round of applause.
‘Honestly most of that emotion was just because it hurt a lot so when something hurts that much you want to see a great result like that,’ Ledecky later told FINA’s website.
‘World Record. Back to Work. Soon Indy,’ the most decorated female swimmer in history (18 world championship gold medals) later tweeted.
The 10-time Olympic medalist touched the wall 40 seconds ahead of runner-up Beatriz Dizotti
Ledecky left herself little time to celebrate though, moving straight on to her next event
Ledecky swam at such a fast pace that she almost broke the 800m world record, halfway into the race, with a split time of 8:00.58, just a second short from the 7:59.00 mark.
Shattering the record for the 1500m freestyle event also set a new precedent for the 25-year-old D.C. native, as she had never set a new precedent in a 25meter pool. All of her previous achievements came in a 50meter pool, the standard Olympic size.
‘I didn’t have it as a set goal (to break the world record),’ Ledecky admitted after her breathtaking performance, according to FINA.
‘I really didn’t know what to expect coming out of this meet, being my first meet of the season, taking most of August off, getting back into training rhythm, didn’t have any type of super preparation for this meet, just wanted to come in and race international swimmers being a meet in North American soil.’
Laila Oravsky, of Canada, finished third on the podium, completing Saturday’s race with a time of 16:16.86, more than a minute after Ledecky. The 2022 FINA Swimming World Cup third and final leg will be held in Indianapolis on Thursday for a three-day action-packed 25m swimming event until Saturday November 5th.