2023 SPEEDO ATLANTA CLASSIC
- Friday, May 12 – Sunday, May 14, 2023
- McAuley Aquatic Center, Atlanta, Georgia
- LCM (50 meters)
- Meet Central
- Psych Sheets
- Live Stream
- Day 3 Prelims Live Recap
During the distance portion of the 2023 Speedo Atlanta Classic, Katie Ledecky (unsurprisingly) swam away from the rest of the field to capture the win in the women’s 800 freestyle. Ledecky swam 8:13.56, a new season-best for the 26-year-old. It’s her third time swimming the event this season; previously she went 8:13.90 at the U.S. Open in November 2022 and 8:14.70 at the Fort Lauderdale stop of the TYR Pro Series in April 2023.
Split Comparison: Ledecky’s 800 Freestyles, 2022-23 LCM Season
| Split (by 100s) | 2023 Speedo Atlanta Classic | 2023 TYR Pro Series – Ft Lauderdale | 2022 Toyota U.S. Open |
| 100 | 59.67 | 59.15 | 58.24 |
| 200 | 1:01.82 | 1:02.44 | 1:01.88 |
| 300 | 1:01.46 | 1:02.25 | 1:01.86 |
| 400 | 1:02.00 | 1:02.39 | 1:02.27 |
| 500 | 1:02.25 | 1:02.30 | 1:02.42 |
| 600 | 1:02.58 | 1:02.62 | 1:02.52 |
| 700 | 1:02.42 | 1:02.20 | 1:03.11 |
| 800 | 1:01.36 | 1:01.35 | 1:01.58 |
| Total Time | 8:13.56 | 8:14.70 | 8:13.90 |
From Fort Lauderdale to Atlanta, you can see that the main difference between the two times is her front end speed. In Fort Lauderdale, she was splitting 1:02s starting her second 100, while in Atlanta she didn’t hit 1:02 until the 400-meter mark. But despite that difference (and the 1:03 split at the U.S. Open) you can see how consistent she’s been through this middle stretch of the season.
Behind her, Georgia’s Rachel Stege finished second in 8:38.72, just three-tenths away from the lifetime best she swam back in 2019. Stege had a breakthrough NCAA season this year, which was highlighted by her SEC title in the 500 yard freestyle. This time at her first meters meet of the season shows that those gains are carrying over to meters as well. Another Georgia swimmer, Abby McCulloh–representing Swim Atlanta–took third in 8:42.10, shaving seven-hundredths off her lifetime best.
The Gators won three of the four distance events, sweeping the 800 as Ledecky won the women’s race and Alfonso Mestre won the men’s with a 7:58.80. He wasn’t as far ahead of the field as Ledecky, but he still had a sizable lead; he was the only one in the field under 8 minutes, as Rafael Ponce de Leon took second in 8:13.68.
Bobby Finke collected the third distance win for the Gators, winning the men’s 1500 freestyle in 15:26.89. He was much faster at each of the three TYR Pro Series he’s raced at so far this season, but he’s also taken on a heavier event load here in Atlanta than he usually does, including swimming off events like the 200 fly.
For reference, he was 15:06.53 in Knoxville, 15:02.54 in Fort Lauderdale, and 15:08.51 in Westmont. His fellow Gator Giovanni Linscheer made it a 1-2 for the Gators, clocking 15:47.28 for second.
Tennessee’s Kate McCarville won the women’s 1500 free, which only had five swimmers. She clocked 17:16.37 to take the win, with Kaylee Coffey finishing second in 17:43.13. They were the only two sub-18; Virginia Tech commit Sydney Starnes was third in 18:06.78.
Dear SwimSwam,
Please inform USA Swimming that a Top 25 All-Time Performance in the women’s 800 meter freestyle (8:11.83) is still missing from the database.
https://staging.swimswam.com/katie-ledecky-hits-811-83-negative-split-800-freestyle-faster-than-tokyo/
https://www.usaswimming.org/times/data-hub/all-time-top-performers
Type List: All Time Top Performances
Gender: Women
Course: LCM
Event: 800 FR Women’s
Dear SwimSwam,
Please inform World Aquatics that a Top 25 All-Time Performance (8:11.83) in the women’s 800 meter freestyle is still missing from the database.
https://staging.swimswam.com/katie-ledecky-hits-811-83-negative-split-800-freestyle-faster-than-tokyo/
https://www.worldaquatics.com/swimming/rankings?gender=F&distance=800&stroke=FREESTYLE&poolConfiguration=LCM&year=all&startDate=&endDate=×Mode=ALL_TIMES®ionId=all&countryId=
Casual.
People who get to see Ledecky in this and the 1500 legit get to see a world class performance virtually every time she jumps in. Like she goes times that would win any major championship ever. What a thing to witness. We are SPOILT 💅
So Katie Ledecky would have finished 2nd in the men’s 800 Free!?!
8:13.56 is STILL faster than the 2nd best perforMER of all time, Titmas with 8:13.59. Ledecky must have the top 30 or so perforMANCES in history, or so??
More like 29 and basically everytime she swims 800 free on final in every meet she goes her time never went above 8:15 which is remarkable.
Quicker than titmus and pallister
One of 17 year old Katie Grimes or 16 year old Claire Weinstein is the next women’s 800 meter freestyler to look out for. Both are open water swimmers, hence plenty of stamina.
Yep and this is one of the lock of this summer besides the 1500 free and 400IM and Ledecky gonna make a history as the first woman to win a sixpeat in an individual events.
You realize that Katie Ledecky is chasing greater history at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships and it’s not a six-peat?
Yes and I’m sure that she wants to win every events that she’s in but this is like 10 years after her first world record and to go unbeaten in an event for eleven years is pretty much an amazing achievement and to win a sixpeat is more historic and I’m looking forward to it .
That’s not as prestigious as winning the most individual gold medals in World Aquatics Championships history, a record held by Michael Phelps.
Lol. Did an Australian tourist come to your country and punch you or something?
I admire the dedication, but I do just have to wonder whether it’s worth the time to slide an insult toward Australia into every single article on the site lol
I didn’t know that was an insult
Michael (aka Vinay which used to be his username) comments on every single Australian article saying “wow those times were terrible” or if a swimmer does a PB “still slower than Summer McIntosh”. Then he goes on other articles and lists Australians who have been slower.
Like, did anyone not realise that Ledecky’s time was faster than Titmus and Pallister?
Michael is an insane person who is obsessed with Australia. So yes, it was very obviously intended as an insult.
Meanwhile, you decide to chime in on an article that has nothing to with Australia. Cretins who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
I responded to a comment that was specifically about Australian swimmers. How is that “chiming in”? It was directly relevant to what was said.
Just to be clear: I’m saying that the discussion should be about Ledecky, not Australia. Ledecky doesn’t need to be compared to Titmus or Pallister in the comments: her incredible times speak for themselves. Michael is just a bit nuts and makes comparisons for no reason,
In this case including Titmus could be justified because she is the 2nd fastest performer ever and Katie’s time was a little faster than Titmus PB, but I feel it should come with an explanation.
Why?
Are you too lazy to look up the data?
https://www.worldaquatics.com/swimming/rankings?gender=F&distance=800&stroke=FREESTYLE&poolConfiguration=LCM&year=all&startDate=&endDate=×Mode=ALL_TIMES®ionId=all&countryId=
Yes I agree. But that’s not what happened. This user who originally went by Vinay and then Michael and now appears to be posting under the name “Winny” just constantly posts negative things about Australia with no context.
Literally in the Kate Douglass interview article right now he posted “Whole of australia failed miserably in winter Olympics lol”. That’s the level of obsession we’re dealing with.
So nobody is allowed to put in context Katie Ledecky’s performance in historical terms because you say so?
The Atlanta Classic has nothing to do with Australia. You purposely chimed in to pick a fight.
Ok I’m going to type this in big letters so you can understand. Read it slowly and carefully:
1. THIS ARTICLE IS ABOUT KATIE LEDECKY.
2. MICHAEL RANDOMLY BROUGHT UP ARIARNE TITMUS AND LANI PALLISTER BECAUSE HE IS OBSESSED.
3. I TOLD MICHAEL TO STOP BECAUSE THIS ARTICLE ISN’T ABOUT AUSTRALIA.
4. YOU ACCUSED ME OF TRYING TO MAKE THIS ARTICLE ABOUT AUSTRALIA.
Ok so now do you see why what you’re saying doesn’t make sense sweetie?
Titmus is a 200-400 swimmer, who can swim a great 800, but has a freak in Ledecky in the 800.
Ledecky is a freak, who at her peak 2016, if 1500 was available in RIO, would’ve won gold 200, 400, 800 & 1500, a feat that could the stand of time..
I agree that Grimes & Weinstein poses the biggest problem for Ledecky in the 800 & 1500 in Paris.
As of calendar year 2023, Katie Kedecky is still posting in-season Top 25 All-Time performances:
400 FR – 16th
1500 FR – 14th
Katie Ledecky’s back must hurt for having the carry the female contingent of USA Swimming for yet another year.
She’s gonna fine and there’s a lot of young and upcoming female swimmers right now that is improving.
Show me the female from the contingent of USA Swimming that will win three individual gold medals at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships not named Katie Ledecky.
Katie Ledecky
World Aquatics Championships
Individual Gold Medals
2013 – 3
2015 – 4
2017 – 3
2022 – 3
It’s high time someone take burden off Katie Ledecky’s shoulders since Missy Franklin at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships.