Another day, another world-leading time for Katie Ledecky.
The six-time Olympic medalist clocked 8 minutes, 15.44 seconds in the 800m freestyle on Saturday. She beat Leah Smith, who finished sixth in the event in Rio, by more than 12 seconds.
Ledecky’s victory came two days after clocking the fastest time in the world this year in the 400m freestyle.
“I think I’m in a good spot right now,” Ledecky said to reporters in Mesa, Ariz.
Full results from the USA Swimming Pro Series at Mesa are here.
It was the first meet since the Rio Games in an Olympic-size 50-meter pool for Ledecky, who has been competing in 25-yard pools at Stanford.
Ledecky was the youngest U.S. athlete in any sport at the 2012 London Games at 15 years old. But in Mesa, she noticed that she was the third-oldest out of eight swimmers in the 800m freestyle final.
“Looking at the heat sheet, it was maybe the first time that I feel like I’m on the older end of it,” she said. “I’m 20 now, and seeing [16] year olds in the heat, and knowing that was me just a couple of years ago.”
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