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American swimmer Katie Ledecky put in brilliant performances at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukoka, Japan, and shared a heartfelt message after the tournament's conclusion. On Saturday, the 26-year-old created history, securing her 16th world title by winning the 800-meter freestyle event.
With an impressive time of 8:08.87, Ledecky won her 16th world title and broke American legend Michael Phelps' record for most individual world swimming titles. Her win also marked her sixth consecutive women’s 800-meter freestyle world title, the longest single-event streak in the history of the championships.
Besides Ledecky’s stunning finish, silver medalist Li Bingjie of China clocked an Asian record of 8:13.31. Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus was a close third, finishing in 8:13.59.
Celebrating her incredible achievements at this year’s World Championships, Ledecky showed her gratitude on Instagram.
“800 free 6-peat complete. Always fun to end the meet with my favorite event. Thankful for everyone’s support along the way this year @usaswimming @gatorsswimdv @tyrsport and thank you Japan for putting on a fabulous World Championships. Congrats to all my teammates and competitors on a lot of fast swimming," Katie Ledecky wrote.
“Looking forward to cheering on Team USA 🇺🇸 today and then getting some R&R with family and friends,” she added.
Katie Ledecky’s performance at the 2023 World Aquatics Championship
Ledecky participated in four events at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships - 400m freestyle,1500m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle relay, and 800m freestyle.
In the 400m freestyle event, billed as the “race of the century”, Katie Ledecky finished second in 3:58.73. Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus took gold in 3:55.38.
The 1500m event, a category usually dominated by Ledecky, saw the 26-year-old emerge victorious again in 15:26.27, the third quickest time of her career. It also marked her 20th career long-course World Championships gold medal.
In the 4x200m freestyle relay, team USA, which consisted of Katie Ledecky, Erin Gemmell, Bella Sims, and Alex Shackell, took home silver with a time of 7:41.38. Team Australia achieved the first position in 7:37.50.
Ledecky was the star of the 800m freestyle event. The swimmer won the gold medal at her favorite event in 8:08.87.
