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.