Katie Ledecky won the 800m freestyle over Summer McIntosh to kick off a Pro Swim Series meet in Westmont, Illinois, on Wednesday.
Ledecky, who won the last four Olympic 800m free gold medals, clocked 8 minutes, 8.57 seconds. McIntosh, the second-fastest woman in history in the event, was 1.88 seconds behind. Race video is here.
“It’s always great to race Summer; I think we bring the best out of each other,” Ledecky told SwimSwam. “I always am swimming the distance free events here. She’s so versatile that you never know what events she’ll enter at a meet. I was excited that she was swimming the 800m here because I knew it would definitely push me.”
Last August, Ledecky won the 800m free at the World Championships, becoming the first swimmer to claim seven world titles in one event.
PRO SWIM SERIES: Results | Broadcast Schedule
Back then, Ledecky swam 8:05.62 to beat Australian Lani Pallister (8:05.98) and McIntosh (8:07.29). At 700 meters, Ledecky trailed McIntosh by 14 hundredths, then overtook the Canadian while holding off Pallister, who had the fastest last 50 meters.
Before that, McIntosh beat Ledecky in an 800m free in February 2024 — Ledecky’s first defeat in the event in 14 years. Then in June 2025, McIntosh swam the third-fastest time in history — 95 hundredths off Ledecky’s latest world record of 8:04.12 that she set a month prior.
The Pro Swim Series stop in Westmont continues Thursday at 7 p.m. ET on Peacock.
U.S. swimmers are preparing for the major international meet of 2026, the Pan Pacific Championships in August in Irvine, California. The U.S. roster for Pan Pacs was already determined by results in 2025 meets.
Also Wednesday, Frenchman Leon Marchand won both the 200m backstroke (1:57.56) and the 200m breaststroke (2:10.06).
Regan Smith took the women’s 200m back (2:04.90) and Kate Douglass the women’s 200m breast (2:22.01), each in the world’s fastest time of 2026.
