U.S. Swimming Championships 2023: Katie Ledecky cruises to second title in Indianapolis
After being upset in the 200m, the seven-time Olympic champion had a dominant performance to win the 400m title
Swimming
Seven-time Olympic gold medallist Katie Ledecky was back to her winning ways Friday evening (30 June) at the U.S. Swimming Championships in Indianapolis.
The swimming superstar made her suprising upset earlier in the week in the 200m freestyle seem like a distant memory, sailing to her second win in Indy in the women's 400m freestyle.
Ledecky clocked a 4:00.45 time, well ahead of second place's Bella Sims (4:03.25).
Sims came out fast, touching the wall first at the 100m mark.
But from there, it was all Ledecky, who had taken a lead she would not relinquish by the halfway mark. After 300m, Ledecky had stretched her lead to a full bodylength.
Despite the margin of victory, she was less than happy with her effort.
"It wasn't great, but I'll take it. There's always things to learn from, so I'll try to learn as much as I can and be better in a couple of weeks," Ledecky said. "I just didn't feel like I was in my rhythm right from the start."
In addition to being the U.S. nationals, the event also serves as Team USA’s World Championships trials. The World Aquatics Championships will be in held in Fukuoka, Japan, in July.
King, Smith makes it three-for-three
Two-time Olympic gold medallist Lilly King picked up a third butterfly national title in as many races, capturing the women's 100m Friday.
Her 1:04.75 was good enough to hold off Lydia Jacoby, the Tokyo 2020 champion in the event. Jacoby put up a time of 1:05.16.
"Just that I had some gas left, that's always a good feeling," said King of her mindset in the final 50. "Knowing that you're going to finish well, that's when the training pays off."
Like King, Regan Smith continued her winning ways in Indy with a third title.
Smith won the 100m backstroke with a new U.S. open record, 57.71. That's also the second best time of the year. Katharine Berkoff was second at 58.01
"Tonight was awesome, there's a great, great group of girls who are all racing tonight," said Smith. "Katharine gave me a really awesome race, and I'm glad I got my hand to the wall first, and I'm super pleased with that time."
2023 U.S. Swimming National Championships and World Team Trials – Indianapolis – Complete schedule
Competition at the 2023 USA Swimming National Championships, which serves as the World Championships trials for Team USA, features five days of competition with heats beginning at 10am local time and finals kicking off at 7pm local. Below is a schedule of events day-by-day. For an entry list, visit the USA Swimming event page.
Saturday, 1 July
- Women’s 1500m freestyle
- 200m IM
- Men’s 800m freestyle
- 50m freestyle
2023 U.S. Swimming National Championships and World Team Trials – Indianapolis – How to watch
NBC’s digital streaming platform Peacock will carry the action from Indianapolis live in the United States. NBC will air tape-delayed coverage of the event on 1 and 2 July. Visit USA Swimming’s event page for more information.
International viewers can view the semi-finals and finals here: www.usaswimming.org/watch.