Katie Ledecky of the United States put on an incredible performance to take yet another chunk off her own 1500m freestyle world record and take home her second gold medal of these World Championships.
With a big push at the end, Ledecky touched in at 15:25.48 to take over two seconds off her newly-established world record of 15:27.71 that she set in prelims earlier in the meet.
Below are a comparison of Ledecky’s prelims and finals splits (both world record performances):
| Prelims 2015 | Finals 2015 | |
| 200 | 2:01.83 | 2:00.52 |
| 400 | 4:06.41 | 4:04.89 |
| 600 | 6:11.18 | 6:09.19 |
| 800 | 8:15.29 | 8:13.25 |
| 1000 | 10:19.55 | 10:17.23 |
| 1200 | 12:23.58 | 12:21.24 |
| 1400 | 14:27.51 | 14:25.62 |
| 1500 | 15:27.71 | 15:25.48 |
Ledecky took the race out hard as she usually does, going under world record pace right from the get go. At the 400m mark, Ledecky turned in 4:04.89, a time that would have finished sixth in the individual 400m freestyle final.
Moving forward, Ledecky continued to bring the heat, turning in 8:13.25 to go well under her own record pace. That 800-split for Ledecky is faster than any indvidual 800 anyone besides Ledecky has ever swum before. Ledecky closed strong to win the race by an incredible 14.66 seconds over New Zealand’s Lauren Boyle.
With that win Ledecky is still currently undefeated in major international competition. She also now holds all of the top five 1500m freestyle performances of all time.
Ledecky’s world record on Tuesday night just goes to show how she has developed over the past few years. Just two years ago at the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona, Ledecky won the 1500m freestyle in 15:36.53 to break the previous world record and take home the gold.
In 2013 she had Danish swimmer Lotte Friis on her tail, who managed to touch in just behind her in 15:38.88. This time around, Ledecky was all alone start to finish and 11 seconds faster than she was just two years earlier.
Friis’ 2013 performance makes her the second best performer ever in the event, and she’s still over 13 seconds slower than Ledecky’s new world record swim.
Why don’t people use their real names? Katie Ledecky is an amazing athlete and richly deserving for what she has done for the sport and for women’s swimming in particular!
Here here. What makes it even more amazing is she only used her legs in the last 10m – unbelievable effort. Imagine what she could do if she employed them a bit earlier? Truly in awe!
Sorry, try again. Ledecky’s WR would’ve been:
5th at the men’s 1976 Olympic final, 4 seconds ahead of Vladimir Salnikov.
5th at the 1984 Olympic men’s final in LA.
Finished ahead of both American men at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Peter Wright – he’s talking to you! I think you could have taken her one-on-one.
To put Ledecky’s performance in perspective.
She would’ve finished 5th aim the men’s 1500m at the 1976 Mintreal Olympics
…one nation, under Ledecky, with liberty and justice for all!
Can I get a warm down??!
LOL Love it!
I love watching the tension and surges between competitors in a long race … or a short race … or ANY swimming race. Unfortunately what I find most irritating is more common in the longer races where the lead swimmer breaks away. The coverage directors seem to feel it is important to zoom in on the race leader and ignore other swimmers for long periods. There is really only one good angle for watching swimming races, and it is from about halfway up the stands at a slight angle, with all swimmers in view. (I realize this is opinion, not fact, but it seems obvious to me.) Please PLEASE! just show the race and let me decide which part I… Read more »
vanity upon vanity all is vanity. Even the pursuit of excellence can be vain. But if you want recignition, praise and worship from your fellow humans, you need to pursue excellence.
Absolutely correct, Carlo! Right on.
Even if distance swimming will never be as popular as the NFL, who cares?
There are reasons to do things in life other than popularity. The pursuit of excellence is worthwhile in itself. Crass appeals to popularity ruin the integrity of the sport.
You are partially right, in that achieving excellence ultimately is the richest price one can ever desire. But you are wrong to deny the importance of a mainstream crossover in the culture of competitive swimming. All I did was state that the shorter distance races would have more mass appeal than the endurance/distance races. The number of individuals who prefer marathon running to a Usain Bolt 100m dash is slim to none (other than maybe marathon runners themselves). And when did I say that swimming must be or ever will be as popular as the NFL? My desire for a more popular sport stems for my yearning to see the sport I love on an elevated platform. The Greatest Swimmer… Read more »
Out in 4:04.
I just can’t get over these performances. Preposterous. Not fair. Not from this world.
Until now I maintained the greatest record in swimming was Jesse Vasallo’s 15:31 as a 14 year old in this event. Until now. I think this swim is just epic and could possibly stand for 4 decades as has Jesse’s. Sorry Jesse, I still love your record dearly but ladies first.
Still not as impressive as 24.43 in my opinion.
In 2001 Grant Hackett won the 1500 by 24 seconds. Friis at 15:49 was 24 seconds behind Ledecky, but her margin over 2nd place was “only” 15 seconds. In other words, while undoubtedly incredibly dominant, and unashamedly impressive, the kind of dominance Ledecky is showing has been approached or exceeded by other before.
The only swim I can think of that even approaches 24.43 was Manaudou’s 22.22 50 back. That’s close but not quite there.
24.43 is just ridiculous.