Kathy Ledecky is having a great time in his first competitive event of the season at the FINA Swimming World Cup. The star American swimmer set a world record in the 1,500-meter freestyle on Saturday night at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre.
“I knew that record was within reach just based on some of the things I’ve been doing in training, especially my distance stuff (as they) felt really good this fall,” Ledecky said. “So I felt locked into the pace.”
The 10-time Olympic medalist — who rarely competes in short-course events — finished in 15:08.24, nearly 10 seconds better than Germany’s Sara Wellbrock’s previous record of 15:18.01 in 2019.
Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images
Canada’s Summer McIntosh, who also set a junior world record by beating Ledecky in the 400m freestyle on Friday, finished first in the 400m individual medley in 4:21.49 to lead the Canadian race.
“I felt strong and in control throughout the race, so I’m very happy,” she said.
Sydney Pickrem was second in 4:28.45 and Bailey Andison was third in 4:29.36.
McIntosh, a 16-year-old from Toronto, shaved nearly two seconds off the previous junior world mark set by China’s Shiwen Ye (4:23.33) in 2012.
Liedetskyi, a A native of Marylandahead of Brazil’s Beatrice Dizzotti (15:48.82) and Laila Oravsky from Canada, who took third place – 16:16.86.
“It’s so unreal to be a part of something so amazing,” Oravsky said. “It was the fastest 1,500 that had just been swum and I was a part of it. It’s crazy.”
Canada’s Maggie McNeil improved her national record in the women’s 50m butterfly, finishing first with a time of 24.75 seconds. American Beata Nelson won the women’s 100-meter backstroke, while Shane Casas of the United States finished first in the men’s 200-meter individual medley.
One of the loudest roars from the almost full audience was heard at Ledecky’s finish. She splashed water after looking at the scoreboard to see her world record.
“Honestly, most of that emotion was just because it hurt so much,” she said. “When something hurts so much, you want to see such a great result. It was mostly happiness. I felt good and was very happy with the result.”
She soon returned to the pool for the 200m free and took silver in 1:52.31, behind Hong Kong’s Siobhan Bernadette Haughey.
“I didn’t have any super preparation for this meeting,” Liadetsky said. “I just wanted to come and race with some international swimmers. These events (Toronto and next week in Indianapolis) are in North America, so I’m just having fun.”
Ledecky’s feat came just over a year after she claimed it the first ever gold medal in the women’s 1,500-meter freestyle at the Olympics in Tokyo.
“I was just trying to enjoy it and soak in every moment,” she told “CBS Mornings” co-anchor Gayle King after the Olympics.
Liadetsky said that she is already looking forward to the next summer Games.
“I really hope that I will have the opportunity to represent Team USA in Paris,” she said. “… I will be back with new goals for 2024.”
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