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Legendary seven-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky started her 2023 campaign with a marvelous win.
At the TYR Pro Swim Series in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Thursday, January 12, Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky once again made winning seem simple by conquering the 200-meter freestyle event. However, Ledecky came in second place in the 400 IM.
Katie Ledecky shines at Pro Swim Series
U.S. Freestyle Champion Katie Ledecky performed well in her first competition of 2023 in the TYR Pro Swim Series in Knoxville, Tennessee, winning the 200-yard freestyle and coming in second place to her young competitor Katie Grimes in the 400-meter individual medley.
200m Freestyle (Women)
In the 200-meter freestyle, Katie Ledecky continues to be unmatched among domestic competitors as she enters her 12th season of the elite competition.
The 25-year-old took an early lead against two talented high school seniors in her first final of 2023 with a 56.66 midway split, and she went on to win by 2.4 seconds. Less than a second slower than her 2022 season best of 1:54.50, Ledecky finished in 1:55.47. She didn't compete in the 200-meter freestyle at the World Championships, but when she competed in the U.S. Nationals, her time in the event was faster than Yang Junxuan's.
Erin Gemmell was beaten by Bella Sims, who won the silver medal in the U.S. women's 800m free relay at the World Championships before having an outstanding autumn season. Just ahead of Nation Capital's Gemmell, who touched in 1:57.97, the Sandpipers swimmer finished in 1:57.87. Claire Weinstein slipped to seventh place with a time of 2:00.08, while Katie Grimes, another Sandpipers swimmer, tied for fourth in 1:59.08.
400-meter Individual Medley (Women)
Despite concentrating mostly on freestyle events, Katie Ledecky has long had the potential to compete internationally in the 400 IM. Katie Grimes, a teen, won silver at the World Championships in 2022, making her the highest achieving American in the competition.
On Thursday evening in Knoxville, the two competed in the 400 IM, and spectators were given a thrilling race as Grimes set the pace and Ledecky displayed her illustrious freestyle as she nearly passed Grimes.
Grimes outran the pack by swimming almost five seconds through the opening 200 meters in 2:11.39, but she lost ground on the breaststroke. She ended the freestyle leg with a solid 1:01.58, ahead of Ledecky by two seconds, but Ledecky exploded with a 59.75 split in the final 100 meters. Ledecky came in 0.17 seconds later in 4:36.09, while Grimes had just enough to reach the wall in 4:35.92, just three seconds worse than her 2022 best time.
Leah Smith of Longhorn, another swimmer with a lengthy history of success in distance races, finished third in 4:43.20.
Other events at Pro Swim Series
In the evening's last event, Bobby Finke, a two-time gold medalist in Tokyo 2020, beat Jay Litherland to win the men's 400-meter IM. They completed their respective distances in 4:17.64 and 4:17.97.
Henry McFadden won the men's 200-meter freestyle event in 1:47.23, followed closely by Kieran Smith (1:47.33) and Gabriel Jett (1:47.41).
The winners in the women's and men's 100-meter breaststroke finals were Mona McSharry (1:06.80) and Lyubomir Epitr (1:01.35), respectively. Four-time Olympic medalist Kylie Masse of Canada won the women's 50-meter backstroke race a little while later, and Justin Ress won the men's competition.
Ella Jansen, who finished first in the women's 100-meter butterfly final with a time of 58.92, defeated Luke Miller (52.24) in the men's competition.
