How Far is Katie Ledecky from SCM World Records?

2022 FINA WORLD CUP – TORONTO

• Friday, October 28 – Sunday, October 30, 2022
• Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre (TPASC), Toronto, Canada
• SCM (25 meters)
• Start Times
  • Prelims: 9:30 am local (ET)
  • Finals: 6:00 pm local (ET)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheet
• Live Results (Omega)
• Live Stream (FINA YouTube)

One of the few gaps on Katie Ledecky’s résumé could get filled this weekend. 

With no short-course meter (SCM) world records in just two career SCM races, Ledecky is poised to make history at the World Cup stop in Toronto, where she’s entered in five events: the 200 freestyle, 400 free, 1500 free, 200 IM, and 400 IM. 

The 25-year-old has little left to prove as a seven-time Olympic champion and the fastest woman ever in the LCM 800 free and 1500 free. But after claiming gold medals in all four of her medals at the World Championships in June and setting two meet records along the way, it’s clear that she’s showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

A lot has happened for Ledecky since she last raced SCM in 2019; perhaps most notably, she switched training bases from Stanford to Florida. Let’s dig a little deeper into the likelihood of Ledecky setting a world record — or maybe even multiple — this weekend.

200 Free 

• Current world record: 1:50.31 – Siobhan Haughey (HGK), 2021

The first of Ledecky’s two career SCM appearances came at the 2013 Duel in the Pool, where she clocked a 200 free time of 1:53.83 at age 16. Her best LCM time, a 1:53.73 that won her gold at the 2016 Olympics, is actually faster than her SCM counterpart, albeit from nearly a decade ago. 

Ledecky didn’t swim the 200 free at Worlds, but her 1:54.50 the next month at U.S. Nationals would have won gold in Budapest. A 3.52-second drop seems like a longshot since she has only dropped 1.82 seconds off her LCM time over the same nine-year period, but it’s possible. 

400 Free

• Current world record: 3:51.30 – Li Bingje (CHN), 2022

It appeared as if Ledecky was going to head into the World Series right on the heels of the 400 free world record held by Australia’s Ariarne Titmus (3:53.92). Ledecky’s personal-best time of 3:54.06 as a 22-year-old during the 2019 International Swimming League (ISL) season was just .14 seconds behind. Then Li Bingjie stole the headlines by blazing a 3:51.30 at the Chinese Swimming Championships on Thursday, lowering the world record by 2.62 seconds. 

Bingje’s big swim makes it tough to expect multiple world records out of Ledecky in Toronto, but she should be on track for a significant time drop here given that she’s shaved nearly two seconds off her best LCM 400 free time over the past three years. Plus, she’s sure to be pushed if Canada’s Summer McIntosh and Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey join her in the final. 

1500 Free

• Current world record: 15:18.01 – Sarah Kohler (GER), 2019

All eyes will be on Ledecky for her expected SCM debut in the 1500 free. Her LCM world record of 15:20.48 converts to a 15:05.39 in SCM, according to the Swimulator Real-Time Converter. That’s more than 12 seconds faster than the current world record held by Germany’s Sarah Kohler. 

The 1500 free and 400 IM are scheduled back-to-back on Saturday, so Ledecky is unlikely to swim both. The 800 free also won’t be included in her program as her specialty event isn’t offered at the Toronto stop of the World Series.

200 IM

• Current world record: 2:01.86 – Katinka Hosszu (HUN), 2014

400 IM

• 4:18.94 – Mireia Belmonte Garcia (ESP), 2017

A world record is almost certainly out of reach for Ledecky in her “fun events,” but she did recently set personal bests in both the 200 IM and 400 IM at U.S. Nationals in July. It’ll mark her SCM debut in each event. Her best 200 IM time converts to a 2:06.95, about five seconds off the world record held by Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu. Ledecky’s best 400 IM time converts to a 4:27.49, about eight seconds slower than the world record set by Spain’s Mireia Belmonte Garcia in 2017.