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2017 W. NCAAs: Ledecky Wrecks American Record with 4:24.0 500 Free

2017 WOMEN’S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

Stanford freshman Katie Ledecky continues to reach new heights. In tonight’s 500 free final at the 2017 Women’s NCAA Championships, Ledecky shattered her own American and NCAA Records with a blazing 4:24.06 to win her first-ever individual NCAA title. That cleared the former mark of 4:25.15 which was done by Ledecky at last month’s 2017 Pac-12 Championships.

Ledecky’s Splits Comparison By 100:

Swimmer 1st 100 Split 2nd 100 Split 3rd 100 Split 4th 100 Split 5th 100 Split Final Time
Katie Ledecky (2017 NCAAs) 50.65 52.84 53.58 54.07 52.92 4:24.06
Katie Ledecky (2017 Pac-12s) 51.32 53.83 53.93 53.6 52.47 4:25.15

Ledecky has all 10 of the fastest performances ever in this race. Her streak extends to the top 12 performances, but is broken by Virginia’s Leah Smith at #13. In tonight’s final, Smith broke the elusive 4:30-barrier with a 4:28.90, making her the only woman besides Ledecky to have ever done so.

Top 10 All-Time Performances: Women’s 500 Free

  1. Katie Ledecky, 4:24.06, 2017
  2. Katie Ledecky, 4:25.15, 2017
  3. Katie Ledecky, 4:26.46, 2016
  4. Katie Ledecky, 4:26.58, 2015
  5. Katie Ledecky, 4:27.21, 2015
  6. Katie Ledecky, 4:27.54, 2016
  7. Katie Ledecky, 4:27.88, 2015
  8. Katie Ledecky, 4:28.17, 2015
  9. (T-9) Katie Ledecky, 4:28.37, 2017
  10. (T-9) Katie Ledecky, 4:28.37, 2017

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bobo gigi
7 years ago

Congrats champion. History is written before our eyes. And it would be crazy and unfair to be jaded.
She gets closer and closer to her limits.
Next target the sub 15 in the 1650 free.

Woah
7 years ago

Race video???

Ervin
7 years ago

Serious question….do you guys think Katie will swim all 4 years at Stanford?? With Missy we knew going into it she was only doing 2 years, but no such comments from Katie thus far.

Dracxo
Reply to  Ervin
7 years ago

I don’t see why not. From an endorsement standpoint, her earning potential will only decrease as we move away from the Olympics. She’ll graduate in 2020 conveniently right before the Olympics too. Unless something dramatic happens to her or the field, it is quite possible that she could duplicate her medal haul from Rio. With Phelps gone, she’ll one of, if not THE, poster child for Team USA. She can get her millions post 2020. I think injury or academics will be the only reason she quits Stanford swimming.

Wild Bill
Reply to  Dracxo
7 years ago

She could take the Olympic year off. Graduate in 2021.

northernsue
7 years ago

It was interesting listening to Katie’s interview after her swim. While she said she was still overall happy, she said it wasn’t an ideal swim because she got into too high of stroke count too early and had a hard time getting it back down. She said she thought she could have gone at least a second faster.

iLikePsych
Reply to  northernsue
7 years ago

Ledecky: there was someone within 5 seconds of me. I know I can do better

Taper?
7 years ago

With most of her 2017 dual meet & invitational 500y swims being in the 4:30 to 4:35 range, then hitting a 4:25 at Pac-12s and a 4:24 at NCAAs, did she taper for Pac-12s?

Taper?
Reply to  Taper?
7 years ago

Why the downvotes, I’m just curious about her taper strategy. Looks like she knocked about 7-8 seconds off her heavy training times. Just curious when and how she tapered.

Mikeh
7 years ago

Whoa Nellie! Amazing thing about Ledecky is that she really doesn’t have metronomic splits. She starts out fast, then gets slower, then calls up an incredibly fast final 100 yards. Just amazing!

On deck
Reply to  Mikeh
7 years ago

Katie was hurting on the Fourth hundred, like a mortal. Huge kudos to Leah

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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