U.S. Swimming Championships 2023: Katie Ledecky wins 1500m going away, now owns all 15 of the top times recorded
The seven-time Olympic champion blew the field away to take her third title of the week in Indianapolis
Swimming
Seven-time Olympic gold medallist Katie Ledecky made it look easy Saturday evening (1 July) at the U.S. Swimming Championships in Indianapolis, as she captured her third title of the week in the women's 1500m.
With an 15:29.64 time, Ledecky now owns all of the top 15 times ever recorded in the event. Her dominant performance found her with a two second lead over second place after just 150m. By 200m, she had separated herself by a full bodylength and at the halfway mark, Ledecky was nearly half a pool's length ahead of her nearest competitor.
In the end, Katie Grimes finished nearly 30 seconds behind the swimming legend with a time of 15:58.34.
"It's amazing what a morning off can do," said Ledecky, who was disappointed with her swim Friday evening (30 June). "I just wanted to finish on a good note. I really don't like finishing a meet with a bad swim, so I just really wanted to have a great one tonight. That's - I think - the first time I've been under 15:30 since before the pandemic so I'm really happy with that."
The swim is the sixth fastest of Ledecky's career, her fastest since 2020 and the fastest time of 2023.
"I have really great teammates and coaches around me every day that keep that motivation high," said Ledecky of how she has continued her dominance in the sport. "I just can't speak highly enough of everyone who has supported me along this journey. And there's a lot more to come."
In addition to being the U.S. nationals, the event also served as Team USA’s World Championships trials. The World Aquatics Championships will be in held in Fukuoka, Japan, in July.
There, Ledecky will swim in four individual events: the 200m, 400m, 800m, and 1500m freestyles.
Kate Douglass upset reigning world champion Alex Walsh in the women's 200m IM, 2:07.09 to 2:07.89. Those are the second and third fastest times of the season, respectively.
Douglass' time, the second fastest ever by an American, is also a U.S. open record.
"I was really excitd to swim this race tonight because I hadn't swam it in a while, I didn't swim it last year," said Douglass after. "I felt prepared to swim it, and I'm really happy with that."
Abbey Weitzel won the final women's title on offer in Indy in the women's 50m freestyle with a time of 24.00. Gretchen Walsh (24.31) finished second.