Katie Ledecky and Caeleb Dressel continue to lead short course yards records

Katie Ledecky and Caleb Dressel are among the most prolific swimmers in the world today. The two of them have led the American swimming team to many victories at the Olympics and the World Championships. Both Dressel and Ledecky burst onto the international scene via their collegiate careers, where they swam short course yards.

Short-course yards are an exclusively American thing. Owing to the streamlined process of becoming a professional athlete in the United States, many athletes go through a successful collegiate career before turning professional. In the sport of swimming, a collegiate career is synonymous with swimming in 25-yard pools. Long after turning professional and focusing more on long course competitions (LCM), Ledecky and Dressel still lead the charts when it comes to short course yard records!

Ledecky at the 2022 Toyota U.S. Open (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Caeleb Dressel is the most prolific short-course swimmer, which should come as no surprise. In 2018, he swam a 50-yard freestlye in 17.63 seconds, within 96.50% of Bjorn Seeliger’s time of 18.27 seconds, who was the second-best performer.

At the 2018 NCAA Division I Men’s Championships, Dressel set two other records, one in the 100-yard freestyle at 39.90 seconds and the other in the 100-yard butterfly at 42.80 seconds. The most astonishing thing about these records is that they represent the three best percentages in men's short course yards events.

Dressel at the TYR Pro Swim Series, 2022 (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Looking at women's events, a similar situation unfolds: Ledecky owns the top three percentages. The only difference is that her records come over longer distances! In 2017, Ledecky set a record of 15:03.31 at the 1650 freestyle which is 97.78% of Erica Sullivan’s 15:23.81. The same year, she swam the 500 freestyle at 4:24.06 which is 98.20% of Leah Smith’s 4:28.90. A couple of years before she set the two records, she swam the 1000 freestyle in 8:59.65 which is 97.98% of Katie Hoff’s 9:10.77.

Ledecky's career so far

At the tender age of 15, Ledecky won her first Olympic gold medal at the London Olympics in 2012 after finishing first in the 800-meter freestyle.

Ledecky Rings New York Stock Exchange Closing Bell (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images)

She made her professional debut at 16 and won four golds at her first world championships. She soon became known as the next big thing in the sport, and so far, she has lived up to the expectations!

Ledecky stands as the most successful female swimmer at the World Championships with 19 gold medals. She has 7 Olympic gold medals to her name. Ledecky is widely considered to be the greatest female swimmer of all time, and it is next to impossible to dispute that.

Dressel at the 2022 FINA World Championships: Swimming (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

Dressel's career so far

Dressel is one of the most dominant forces in the sport. Like Ledecky, he has won seven Olympic gold medals and is an extremely successful professional with fourteen golds at the World Championships.

The 26-year-old is a category-wise record holder, but perhaps the most impressive one is the fact that he is the fastest swimmer in the world over the first 15 meters!