By: Emily Chu
Last Saturday, 25-year-old Katie Ledecky, a ten-time Olympic medalist, won yet another gold in the women’s 400-meter freestyle at the 2022 FINA swimming world championships in Budapest, Hungary. American swimmers have won two golds, one silver, and three bronzes on the first day of competition.
• Ledecky swam the event in 3 minutes 58.15 seconds, breaking her 2017 personal record with a time that put her on track to reclaim the 400-meter freestyle title. However, she was 2 seconds slower than the world record set by Ariarne Titmus, who was timed at 3 minutes 56.40 seconds at the SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre in Adelaide, Australia last month.
• Once the undoubted 400-meter freestyle champion, Ledecky’s dominance has been questioned in the last few years as Australian Ariarne Titmus took gold at both the 2019 world championships and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Titmus’ absence made Ledecky’s path to this year’s world championship much easier. But a new rival, 15-year-old Summer McIntosh, presented a strong challenge. The Canadian earned silver with a time of 3:59.39, 1.24 seconds behind Ledecky.
• Leah Smith, the other swimmer for team USA, came in third with a time of 4 minutes 2.08 seconds.
“It feels good. It’s the fastest I’ve ever been at worlds so I’m really happy with that and really excited about the rest of the week I have ahead of me,” Ledecky said. Winning the 400-meter gave her a 16th gold at the world championships and an 18th overall. “Just wanted to start the meet on a good note. It hurt a bit, but I’m really happy and couldn’t be happier to have Leah on the medal podium with me.”
On Monday, Ledecky claimed her second gold medal at the world championships, this time in the women’s 1,500-meter freestyle. Her time was 15 minutes 30.15 seconds, a whopping 14 seconds faster than the competition. On Wednesday, she won another gold in the women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay. Her 200-meter split time of 1:53.6 seconds was the second-fastest of all time.
“I feel like just yesterday I was in Barcelona at my first worlds,” Ledecky said. “It’s awesome just representing Team USA year after year and it’s an honor and a privilege and it’s why I work hard.”
Ledecky will attempt to extend her winning streak on Friday, when it is presumed that she will compete in the 800-meter freestyle finals.
Sources: