How did Katie Ledecky perform in World Championships 2025? Complete recap of her historic run

Katie Ledecky’s campaign at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships has come to a close. The American athlete competed in four events and secured a podium finish in all of them.

Ledecky also raised her career total to 30 World Championship medals, surpassing Ryan Lochte to become the second most decorated swimmer, closing in on legendary Michael Phelps’ 33 titles.

Ledecky competed in three individual events, the 400m freestyle, 1500m freestyle, and 800m freestyle and the 4x200m freestyle relay at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships.

A look at Katie Ledecky’s performance at the 2025 World Championships

1. 400m Freestyle

The 400m freestyle took place on July 27. Katie Ledecky finished third, earning bronze with a time of 3:58.49. Summer McIntosh won the race in 3:56.26, and Li Bingjie finished second in 3:58.21. Li surged past Ledecky in the final 10 meters and took silver. It was a remarkable race, with four women finishing under 3:59.

2. 1500m Freestyle

Ledecky continued her dominance in the 1500m freestyle, winning her sixth world title in the event on July 29. She clocked 15:26.44, just six seconds shy of her world record 15:20.48 set in 2018. Simona Quadarella finished second in 15:31.79, and Lani Pallister third in 15:41.18.

3. 4x200m Freestyle Relay

The U.S. women’s 4×200m freestyle relay team, Claire Weinstein, Anna Peplowski, Erin Gemmell, and Katie Ledecky won silver with a new American record. They finished in 7:40.01, breaking the previous mark of 7:40.73 set by Schmitt, Madden, McLaughlin, and Ledecky at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Australia took gold with a winning time of 7:39.35.

4. 800m Freestyle

The 800m final was held on August 2 and featured a highly anticipated battle between Ledecky, Summer McIntosh, and Lani Pallister. Ledecky touched the wall first to win her seventh consecutive world title in the event, clocking 8:05.62. Pallister finished second in 8:05.98, and McIntosh third in 8:07.29.

Ledecky also holds the world record in the event with a time of 8:04.12, set at the TYR Pro Series in Fort Lauderdale in May.

Post the 800m freestyle race, Ledecky said (via Reuters):

"That's pretty incredible, three of us going under 8:10 ... incredibly fast. They pushed me all the way. I don't think I have anything to lose at this point of my career.

Just enjoying the crowd, swimming against the best in the world. Everyone in that heat is the next generation of swimmers coming up; just proud to be a part of it."

Katie Ledecky has also dominated the 800m freestyle at the Olympics, winning gold in this race at the 2012 London Games, 2016 Rio, 2021 Tokyo, and 2024 Paris Games. She is the only woman to win the same event at four Olympics in any sport.