After swimming a blazing 53.75 in the 100 free and the fifth-fastest 400 free of all time in the same session last night, it was clear that Katie Ledecky was primed for a monster swim in the 200 free on the second night of the 2016 Austin Pro Series. Ledecky did not disappoint, as she out dueled Swedish star Sarah Sjostrom to win the event this evening with a stunning 1:54.43, setting a new 17-18 National Age Group record and just missing the U.S. Open record.
Sjostrom was first at the wall, but Ledecky took the lead on the second 50 and continued to build on that lead over the second half of the race, eventually winning by almost two seconds over Sjostrom’s 1:56.14, which is also a great time for an in-season swim.
The 17-18 National Age Group record previously belonged to Missy Franklin, who was swimming in lane two in tonight’s final. That record stood at 1:54.81, from Franklin’s gold medal swim at the 2013 Barcelona World Championships.
Tonight Ledecky was only .03 off the U.S. Open record of 1:54.40, which was set by Allison Schmitt during the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials. A month later, she set the American Record and won the gold medal in London with the second-fastest swim of all time, a 1:53.61 that Ledecky seems set to challenge this summer in Rio.
Ledecky is now the fourth-fastest swimmer of all time, behind only world record holder Federica Pellegrini, Schmitt, and Sjostrom.
Coming into this meet, Ledecky’s personal best was a 1:55.16, a time she’s achieved twice. The first time was at the 2014 Summer Nationals, and the second time was last summer, when that time earned her a gold medal at the Kazan World Championships. Ledecky turns 19 in March, so she has two more months to try to lower the NAG record should she choose to do so, including the Orlando stop of the Arena Pro Series, which will take place March 3rd-5th.
Was Katie tapered? shaved? for this….? If she wasn’t, the 1:54 probably translates to a 1:52 low or better, no?
I didn’t claim she could win it…just that she is certainly targeting an attempt (and perhaps in the future 2020). How many other distance swimmers spend time racing sprints at major meets? Ledecky could just be content with a near guaranteed 2 golds in the 400 and the 800…
She would need some muscle and to do that probably drop the 800
No way Ledecky can contest for medals in the 100 in Rio. She would have to go nearly 1.5 seconds faster. I think she might drop another 0.5 and go 53 low, but it’s going to take a 52 low to medal in Rio.
One day , maybe when she focuses less on the longer distances , it might be reachable ( in 2,3 years i shall say ) .
100 free James? Relay maybe individual the c sister and sjostrom are very ahead
And I think Cate wants the WR in 100free really bad.
Thats true , it would be very very very hard to beat those 3 ( and there are more Aussie Girls who go very fast on the 100 free – which is why they broke the 400 free WR not long ago ) in the years to come BUT with the Golden Team of Gemmell – Ledecky Impossible doesn’t count much –
200, 400, 800 free, 400 and 800 free relays… she is looking at 4 golds minimum
Ledecky has big time plans this summer…even if she isn’t particularly outspoken or boisterous in her predictions. In my honest opinion she is testing her ability to win the sprint events and claim the 100-800. People don’t go swim events at record pace that they do not have goals behind.
All I can say is stay as far away from the college pool if she wants to keep on breaking records. It obviously has not done Franklin any good on the international scene.
At 2014 summer, someone interview Ledecky’s coach, look at what he said:
“The standard is Shane Gould,” said Ledecky’s coach, Bruce Gemmell. “And that standard is pretty high.”
I will say they are not fooling around.
The path is very hard and a maze by then, definitely more clearly right now.