2016 RIO OLYMPIC GAMES
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Swimming: August 6-13
- Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Barra Olympic Park, Rio de Janeiro
- Prelims – 9:00 a.m/12:00 p.m PST/EST (1:00 p.m local), Finals – 6:00 p.m/9:00 p.m PST/EST (10:00 p.m local)
- SwimSwam previews
Katie Ledecky‘s campaign for 2016 Olympic dominance has started out perfect – just like Ledecky in individual international finals.
Still undefeated individually on the world’s stage, Ledecky opened her 2016 Olympics with a bang, demolishing her own world record in the 400 free with a 3:56.46.
That’s a mind-blowing time that crushed the Olympic field by almost five full seconds. Ledecky shook even the world’s best by just a few laps into the race and never looked back, with the world record line at her feet most of the way.
Of all the world records Ledecky has obliterated, this is one of the most impressive in terms of the sheer amount she took off the standing record.
Here’s a comparison of splits between Ledecky’s old and new world records:
| Ledecky 2016 | Ledecky 2014 | ||
| 27.73 | 27.85 | ||
| 29.32 | 57.05 | 57.87 | 30.02 |
| 29.94 | 30.04 | ||
| 30.12 | 1:00.06 | 1:00.73 | 30.39 |
| 30.30 | 30.07 | ||
| 30.21 | 1:00.51 | 1:00.44 | 30.37 |
| 29.92 | 30.33 | ||
| 28.92 | 58.84 | 59.63 | 29.30 |
| 3:56.46 | 3:58.37 | ||
Ledecky now owns the 6 fastest swims in history in the event, along with 9 of the top 10. The only non-Ledecky member of that list is former world record-holder Federica Pellegrini, who swam that time in 2009 in a now-banned supersuit:
Top 400 Frees in History
- Ledecky (2016) – 3:56.46
- Ledecky (2014) – 3:58.37
- Ledecky (2016) – 3:58.71
- Ledecky (2014) – 3:58.86
- Ledecky (2016) – 3:58.98
- Ledecky (2015) – 3:59.13
- Pellegrini (2009) – 3:59.15
- Ledecky (2016) – 3:59.54
- Ledecky (2013) – 3:59.82
- Ledecky (2014) – 3:59.89
Wow. The best 400m I have watched. No biased, just impressed beyond belief.
I’m curious what can she do in 400m IM fully tapered
4:30?
Maybe in the future we will see Hosszu vs Ledecky battle
Not since Debbie Meyers and Janet Evans have we (or the world) seen such magnificent swims! Very unassuming and it’s fun to watch her race. Totally fearless! Katie Ledecky is a national treasure!
I’d add Shirley Babashoff to that mix. Her range was remarkable (American Records from 100m-800m).
If not for — umm — circumstances beyond her control, there would have been plenty more world records.
Not since Debbie Meyers and Janet Evans have we (or the world) seen such magnificent swims! Very unassuming and it’s fun to watch her race. Totally fearless! Katie Ledecky is a national treasure!
Judging from her incredible opening speed during that 400 and from her solid 52.7 100 split.
I think 1:53-low might be doable for her 200.
I predict more like 1:53-mid but Ledecky vs. Sjostrom in the 200 should be a great race that should push one or both to stretch their limits. Although in their first few races, Ledecky seems a little sharper by her their own respective standards.
We’ve had two incredible swimmers each break a world record by about two seconds en route to gold. Both have been world-class swimmers for a long time, both have never tested positive. Yet one would get a different impression reading the comments regarding their world record swims.
Hats off to both of them.
She is already a Legend !!! Shine on for the rest of the competition . Her 200 free will be special