Katie Ledecky broke her nine-year-old world record in the 800 meters to highlight Saturday’s events at the Pro Swim Series meet in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The 28-year-old Ledecky churned through the water in 8:04.12, which eclipsed her world record time of 8:04.79 accomplished at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Ledecky had not broken any world records since 2018, but she foreshadowed Saturday’s performance by swimming the world’s second-fastest 1,500 on Wednesday and delivering her second-fastest 400 on Thursday.
Ledecky has earned Olympic gold in the 800 four consecutive times and intends to go for a fifth at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Jillian Cox took second in 8:23.58 while Claire Weinstein was third in 8:26.06. The 18-year-old Weinstein joined Ledecky, Paige Madden and Erin Gimmell on the United States’ 800 free relay team that took silver at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Gretchen Walsh broke her own world record in the 100 butterfly Saturday — twice. She edged her previous best of 55.18 during the morning prelims (55.09), then shattered that mark during the afternoon finals (54.60).
–Field Level Media
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