Reported by Karl Ortegon.
WOMEN’S 400 FREE FINAL
- Katie Ledecky 4:00.51
- Leah Smith 4:04.72
- Melanie Margalis 4:08.84
Katie Ledecky of Stanford was just on top of her Indy splitting in this race, going out in 57.2 at the 100 and then 1:57.8 in the 200 free, but fell off of her pace and wound up just over the 4-minute barrier. She won the race by a considerable margin, though, hitting a 4:00.51, but she was well off of her 3:57.94 from Indy.
Leah Smith of Tuscon Ford Dealers took two seconds off of her season best to take 2nd in 4:04.72, while St. Petersburg Aquatics’ Melanie Margalis cruised under 4:10 for the first time ever with a 4:08.84. That’s the 4th-ranked time in the world this year for Smith. This bodes well for Margalis’s freestyle, as she will try to snag a relay spot on the 4×200 for Pan Pacs.
Of note, 16-year-old Regan Smith from Riptide went a lifetime best 4:14.34 to take fifth.
I know not quite the same but 2014 comm games 2014 pan pacs 2015 worlds and 2016 olympics 4×100 free relay cate and Bronte Campbell
I haven’t expected that this discussion brings so many interesting facts and great names. But by far there were no examples in women swimming. So I could be right: Katie Ledecky and Leah Smith make indeed a unique case in women swimming. It’s true that 4×200 relay is relatively young event. Just 35 years or so old 😀 But still these two girls have a chance to make this string of wins 7 if not more years long.
Michael Klim and Thorpe were on the same 4×200 free winning relay 1998 comm games, 1998 worlds, 1999 pan pacs, 2000 olympics, 2001 worlds. Similar arrangement re Thorpe and Hackey except for Hackey swam the heat only at 2000 Olympics.
Do you think that Dressel’s contract will be more or less than Katie’s with TYR?
well it should be less in my opinion, but Dressel swims the popular events so who knows
Interesting fact: Leah Smith has already shared 4 consecutive gold winning major relays with Katie Ledecky and the fifth one most likely is coming this season. I think that is a very rare if not a unique case in the history of competitive swimming.
I think the rarity in this stat probably comes from 5 consecutive gold medal winning relays. That just doesn’t happen very often, and the reality is that there’s not a very big pool of “major relays” to choose from, to the definition of a modern swimmer anyway. FINA World Aquatics Championships didn’t start until 1973. Pan Pacs nont until 1985. So, presuming by “major relays” you mean Worlds + Pan Pacs/Euros/Asian Games/Commonwealth Games + Olympics, there just haven’t been very many “5-straight blocks” in which to accomplish this feat.
But, off the top of my head, Lochte and Phelps won the 800 free relay at:
2007 Worlds… Read more »
2008 Olympics
2009 Worlds
2010 Pan Pacs
2011 Worlds
Ok, you’ve convinced me: Ledecky-Smith tandem is a regular stuff. 😀
I thought Phelps wasn’t around in 2013
Except Phelps wasn’t on the ’13 or ’14 relays… Still got 6 in together before that. Vanderkaay and Berens were on a bunch of those too.
Oh right, good call. When it’s Phelps, you just kind of get on a roll and assume…
Don’t forget Biondi and Jager from 1984-1992. 3 Olympics, 2 world championships and a Pan Pac in the 4×100 freestyle relay.
Phelps and Lochte were also on 2004, 2005 and 2006 winning teams in the 4×2.
Phelps was on the ’14 relay at Pan Pacs, although, right the string was already broken because he wasn’t at Worlds in ’13.
Another thing to add to that is that Leah and Katie have been on the relay in the finals for four consecutive years and won gold each time. Dwyer wasn’t on the finals in 2011. But the combination of Lochte, Phelps, and Berens from 2008 to 2012 is very impressive. Obviously if you take the finals part out of it, Missy and Katie shared 4 straight from 2013 to 2016 as Missy raced in the prelims in Rio, but being part of that final relay for the USA is clearly a huge achievement given the USA’s depth in the 200 free.
She is so benefitting from constantly swimming next to Katie – thats something special not many swimmers have had the privilege in the past 4 years . Good on you Leah – u rock
I once complained to my dad that I had to swim next to a very fast swimmer in a 200 fly. His reply: “Not for long, you didn’t.”
So you have a good genes and we can expect from you same great sense of humor and objectivity 😀
I’ll remind him of that this Father’s Day.
Leah Smith was for so long quiet at the beginning of this season. She skipped competition with her young Chinese challengers in January and March. Her first appearance at PSS was so far away from what we would expect from her (even in training) that a small concern has risen, if she is ok.
Oh, yes. She Is Ok. 4:04 and 8:26 a very good times in the middle of the season. Still at 200 I would expect her to be well under 1:58.