Katie Ledecky closed the U.S. swimming championships on Saturday with a blistering time, winning the 1500m freestyle in 15:29.64 to secure a fourth individual qualification at the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan (14 -July 30).
Ledecky, who set the world record at 15:20.48 in the same pool at the Indianapolis Natatorium in 2018, clocked the sixth-fastest time in history, and now holds the top 15 performances on the distance.
After a look at the scoreboard, the seven-time Olympic gold medalist hit the water for joy, after her frustration on Friday with a poor time in the 400m freestyle, despite her victory.
“It’s amazing what a morning’s rest can do,” Ledecky said. “I just wanted to finish on a high note. I really don’t like to end a meet on a bad note, so I really wanted to swim well tonight.”
“I think this is the first time I’ve been below 15:30 since the pandemic, so I’m really happy with that,” she added.
American Katie Ledecky after her victory in the 1500m freestyle on Saturday in Indianapolis, during the United States swimming championships / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
In total, the 26-year-old champion will participate in four events at the Worlds, from where she has already brought home 19 gold medals: between her qualifications for her long distances (800m on Tuesday and therefore 1500m), she had taken second place in the 200m freestyle and had won the 400m in 4 min 00.45 sec, an unsatisfactory time for her, far from the performance she will have to aim for in Japan to challenge the world record woman, the Canadian Summer McIntosh, and the Australian Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus.
In addition, Kate Douglass won her second title of the competition with an impressive victory in the 200m medley in 2 min 07.09 sec, the second best performance in the world this year behind McIntosh (2:06.89).
Less fortunate, the seven-time Olympic gold medalist Caeleb Dressel, back after a long absence, missed his last chance to participate in the world championships. Dressel, who withdrew from the world championships in Budapest last year for unknown medical reasons and had stopped training for many months, finished in 22nd place in the 50m freestyle heats.
The 26-year-old swimmer with 14 world championship titles had already failed in three other events, the 50m butterfly (he finished 3rd), the 100m butterfly (5th) and the 100m freestyle, of which he had not reached the final.
2023-07-02 06:34:33
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