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Katie Ledecky began the Olympic year dominantly, lapping all but two swimmers and winning a 1500m freestyle event by a whopping 52.42 seconds.
At a Tyr Pro Series meet in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Wednesday, January 10, Ledecky clocked 15 minutes and 38.81 seconds en route to emerging victorious. It is the 17th-fastest time in history and Ledecky, astonishingly, owns all 17 of them.
Tennessee’s Aly Breslin (16:43.09) came second, with teammate Kate McCarville (16:44.37) beating Mila Nikanorov (16:44.60) for third. Ashley Wall was the second-fastest overall, completing her heat in 16:31.13.
However, it is to be noted that the field at the Tyr Pro Series meet did not include any of the top 15 finishers from the event at last year’s U.S. Nationals.
Ledecky has made the 1500m freestyle event her own, going undefeated in the category throughout her professional career. So far, she has won five world titles, including a gold medal during the event’s Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Games. Additionally, she won the world title in 2023 by 17.04 seconds.
The 26-year-old is undefeated in the 1500m free in her professional career, winning five world titles, plus gold in the event’s Olympic debut in Tokyo. She won last year’s world title by 17.04 seconds.
According to official records, the seven-time Olympic champion has lost a 1500m event just once in her life, when she was 13 years old at the 2010 Potomac Valley Swimming Championships, where she finished as the runner-up to a 17-year-old.
With a little more than six months to go for the 2024 Paris Olympics, Ledecky has shown that she's on the right track for the quadrennial event. Her performance in Knoxville was an improvement over the 15:46.38 time she clocked at the US Open in Greensboro, North Carolina, in November last year.
Katie Ledecky and Kate Douglass win the Female Athlete of the Year Award at the 2023 Golden Goggles
Katie Ledecky and Kate Douglass were both named Female Athletes of the Year at the 2023 Golden Goggles. The pair beat Regan Smith and Katie Grimes to the award.
Ledecky had an outstanding 2023 season. At the World Championship Trials in June, she posted a time of 8:07.07 in the 800m freestyle event, which is the third fastest time in history. She later clocked 15:29.64 in the 1500m, breaking the 15:30 barrier for the first time since March 2020.
At the World Championships in Fukuoka, she posted 8:08.84 to win the 800m by nearly five seconds, She then swam three seconds faster than her Trials time to win the 1500m. The 26-year-old also swam a season-best 3:58.73 to secure a silver medal for Team USA in the 400m freestyle event.
Ledecky has been named the Female Athlete of the Year Award for a ninth time at the Golden Goggles, having first won in 2013 and taking home the honors till 2018. She also won the award in 2021 and 2022.
