Katie Ledecky and Gretchen Walsh broke their own world records on the last day of a Tyr Pro Series meet in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Saturday.
Ledecky swam the fastest time in history in the 800m freestyle, her trademark event, for her first world record in any event in a 50-meter pool in seven years.
Ledecky clocked 8 minutes, 4.12 seconds in her first top-level meet since the Paris Olympics. Her previous record of 8:04.79 was from the 2016 Rio Olympics.
She was under world record pace through 400 meters Saturday, then fell behind at the 450m and 500m splits before going back under at 550m. She was seven hundredths under the pace at 700m before powering home to break it by 67 hundredths.
SWIMMING: Full Results
“I flipped at the 750, and it was loud in here, and I just told myself I’m not letting this opportunity go to waste and started sprinting,” said Ledecky, who earlier in the meet swam her second-fastest times ever in her two other primary events, the 400m and 1500m frees.
Also Saturday, Walsh lowered her 100m butterfly world record twice — in the morning preliminary heats and evening finals. More on Walsh’s world records here.
Before Saturday, Ledecky’s most recent world record in any event in a 50-meter pool (used at most major meets) was in May 2018 in the 1500m freestyle.
“This is just so many years in the making,” she said, adding later, “Maybe I stopped watching my world record videos right before my races or looking at my splits as often, but just to kind of rekindle that this week and over the last few years. I think Fukuoka in 2023 (World Championships) was really the first meet in a while that I had gone into some of my races thinking that it was a possibility.”
Ledecky has broken an individual world record 15 times in 50-meter pools, tying 1968 triple gold medalist Debbie Meyer for the most by a U.S. female swimmer. Ledecky and Meyer, who met in 2014, share a bond as the only swimmers to sweep the 200m, 400m and 800m freestyles at one Olympics.
Another American, Donna de Varona, broke 14 world records and also once tied one of her own world records in the 1960s.
Ledecky has broken the 800m free record six times (the first time in 2013). She also broke two world records in 25-meter pools in 2022.
She now owns the 10 fastest times in history in the 800m free, followed by Canadian Summer McIntosh with a personal best of 8:09.86.
Up until February 2024, Ledecky had a 50-plus-meet win streak in the 800m free with the top 29 times in history (if also including 800-meter splits in 1500m free races). Then McIntosh snapped the streak and broke up Ledecky’s ownership of the all-time list.
“Last year was a good year,” said Ledecky, who won four medals, including 800m and 1500m free golds, at the Paris Olympics. “I got sick a lot last year, so I don’t think last year was as clean of a year as it could have been. This year, I’ve been healthy the whole year. Training has been great.”
Ledecky won the last four Olympic gold medals in the 800m free, starting at London 2012 when she was 15 years old. In 2028, she can become the second person to win gold in the same individual Olympic event five times after Cuban wrestler Mijain Lopez.
“It’s almost like, if the season was over now, I’d be happy,” she said Friday, reflecting on the 400m and 1500m free times in Fort Lauderdale. “Just kind of swimming with no expectations. I think that’ll be important for the rest of the season as well coming off of this.”
Next up are the U.S. Championships from June 3-7 in Indianapolis, where the team will be determined for the world championships in July and August in Singapore.
“I know I’m going to be trash at practice on Monday morning,” Ledecky said. “I always am after a meet like this, but I know my coaches will be patient with me.”
