Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr
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GOLD COAST, Australia, August 24.
Katie Ledecky has entered that Michael Phelps realm, where she just toys with races to find different ways to break world records, and she did just that with a mind-bending 15:28.36 this evening in the women’s metric mile.
When all is said and done, Ledecky keeps her focus on the most basic thing in swimming – setting a new lifetime best. That’s exactly how Phelps kept his train going throughout his epic Olympic runs – eye on the prize, set a lifetime best. It just so happens that Ledecky is on that Phelps level now where every single lifetime best is a world record.
The big difference though, is that Ledecky is doing it in events that have not had all that much progression compared to some of the swims Phelps took part in. Where Phelps would potentially cut half-a-second off a 200, Ledecky is moving 30 seconds ahead of the entire world with a ridiculously fast 15:28.36. That’s a nearly six-second drop from the world record she set at The Woodlands Senior Invitation earlier this summer, as she nearly took down the 400, 800 and 1500 freestyle world records in a single meet here in the Gold Coast.
Incidentally, Ledecky also smashed the meet record of 15:55.01 set by Kate Ziegler in 2006. It also obliterated Ziegler’s Australian All-Comers record of 15:53.05 from 2007.
In sum this summer during a nine-week span, Ledecky has posted five different world-record setting performances. She set both the 800 and 1500 free marks at The Woodlands Senior Invite, then downed the 400 free at U.S. Nationals. Here in Australia, she took down the 400 and 1500 frees again as well.
The win gave Ledecky her fourth individual gold, to go along with her 200, 400 and 800 wins. She is the first female every to accomplish that feat at Pan Pacs.
New Zealand’s Lauren Boyle, who set the short course world record in the 1500 free earlier this summer but has the time under protest due to pool conditions, took silver in 15:55.69 to move ahead of Mireia Belmonte Garcia (15:57.29) for a very distant second behind Ledecky’s brain-altering swim. Canada’s Brittany MacLean checked in with a bronze-winning time of 15:57.15 for third in the world as well.
One of the most epic swims I have ever seen…1500 meters in 15 min and 28 sec by the amazing @katieledecky breaking her WR by 6 seconds
— Rowdy Gaines (@RowdyGaines) August 24, 2014
Former World Record Splits for Comparison (15:34.23):
59.81, 2:02.31 (1:02.50), 3:04.84 (1:02.53), 4:07.21 (1:02.37), 5:09.09 (1:01.88), 6:11.42 (1:02.33), 7:13.71 (1:02.29), 8:16.18 (1:02.47), 9:18.96 (1:02.78), 10:21.80 (1:02.84), 11:24.64 (1:02.84), 12:27.61 (1:02.97), 13:30.98 (1:03.37), 14:33.53 (1:02.55), 15:34.23 (1:00.70)
Results
1 LEDECKY, KATIE 17 UNITED STATES 15:34.23 15:28.36W 1026
r:+0.70 28.56 59.34 (30.78)
1:30.41 (31.07) 2:01.85 (31.44)
2:32.89 (31.04) 3:04.03 (31.14)
3:35.23 (31.20) 4:06.57 (31.34)
4:37.74 (31.17) 5:09.13 (31.39)
5:40.41 (31.28) 6:11.76 (31.35)
6:42.96 (31.20) 7:14.25 (31.29)
7:45.55 (31.30) 8:16.90 (31.35)
8:47.98 (31.08) 9:19.11 (31.13)
9:50.07 (30.96) 10:20.96 (30.89)
10:52.08 (31.12) 11:23.08 (31.00)
11:53.81 (30.73) 12:24.95 (31.14)
12:55.66 (30.71) 13:26.65 (30.99)
13:57.56 (30.91) 14:28.52 (30.96)
14:59.37 (30.85) 15:28.36 (28.99)
2 BOYLE, LAUREN 26 NEW ZEALAND 15:44.71 15:55.69A 941
r:+0.77 29.35 1:00.98 (31.63)
1:32.28 (31.30) 2:03.98 (31.70)
2:35.56 (31.58) 3:07.28 (31.72)
3:39.18 (31.90) 4:11.27 (32.09)
4:43.25 (31.98) 5:15.37 (32.12)
5:47.31 (31.94) 6:19.27 (31.96)
6:51.17 (31.90) 7:23.12 (31.95)
7:55.03 (31.91) 8:27.04 (32.01)
8:58.98 (31.94) 9:31.07 (32.09)
10:03.17 (32.10) 10:35.42 (32.25)
11:07.59 (32.17) 11:39.79 (32.20)
12:11.88 (32.09) 12:44.11 (32.23)
13:16.43 (32.32) 13:48.84 (32.41)
14:20.73 (31.89) 14:52.60 (31.87)
15:24.41 (31.81) 15:55.69 (31.28)
3 MACLEAN, BRITTA 20 CANADA 16:10.26 15:57.15A 936
r:+0.77 29.95 1:01.69 (31.74)
1:33.92 (32.23) 2:06.36 (32.44)
2:38.42 (32.06) 3:10.65 (32.23)
3:42.83 (32.18) 4:15.21 (32.38)
4:47.36 (32.15) 5:19.94 (32.58)
5:51.96 (32.02) 6:24.40 (32.44)
6:56.40 (32.00) 7:28.78 (32.38)
8:00.61 (31.83) 8:32.73 (32.12)
9:04.76 (32.03) 9:36.89 (32.13)
10:08.58 (31.69) 10:40.59 (32.01)
11:12.57 (31.98) 11:44.56 (31.99)
12:16.12 (31.56) 12:47.91 (31.79)
13:19.59 (31.68) 13:51.54 (31.95)
14:23.34 (31.80) 14:55.47 (32.13)
15:26.89 (31.42) 15:57.15 (30.26)
4 RUNGE, CIERRA 18 UNITED STATES 16:33.06 16:04.48 915
r:+0.78 29.45 1:01.58 (32.13)
1:34.19 (32.61) 2:06.63 (32.44)
2:39.20 (32.57) 3:11.86 (32.66)
3:44.54 (32.68) 4:17.02 (32.48)
4:49.70 (32.68) 5:22.31 (32.61)
5:54.48 (32.17) 6:26.80 (32.32)
6:59.16 (32.36) 7:31.70 (32.54)
8:03.89 (32.19) 8:36.21 (32.32)
9:08.26 (32.05) 9:40.73 (32.47)
10:12.83 (32.10) 10:45.18 (32.35)
11:17.32 (32.14) 11:49.84 (32.52)
12:21.77 (31.93) 12:54.24 (32.47)
13:26.53 (32.29) 13:58.77 (32.24)
14:30.16 (31.39) 15:01.95 (31.79)
15:33.37 (31.42) 16:04.48 (31.11)
5 KOBRICH, KRISTE 29 CHILE 15:54.30 16:30.74 844
r:+0.80 30.54 1:02.69 (32.15)
1:35.05 (32.36) 2:07.77 (32.72)
2:40.64 (32.87) 3:13.40 (32.76)
3:46.27 (32.87) 4:19.31 (33.04)
4:52.36 (33.05) 5:25.69 (33.33)
5:58.78 (33.09) 6:32.03 (33.25)
7:05.27 (33.24) 7:38.43 (33.16)
8:11.56 (33.13) 8:44.81 (33.25)
9:18.03 (33.22) 9:51.28 (33.25)
10:24.49 (33.21) 10:57.85 (33.36)
11:31.02 (33.17) 12:04.39 (33.37)
12:37.59 (33.20) 13:10.89 (33.30)
13:44.31 (33.42) 14:17.71 (33.40)
14:51.06 (33.35) 15:24.45 (33.39)
15:57.87 (33.42) 16:30.74 (32.87)
6 IGARASHI, CHIHI 19 JAPAN 16:32.93 16:34.09 836
r:+0.66 29.20 1:01.12 (31.92)
1:33.37 (32.25) 2:05.96 (32.59)
2:38.40 (32.44) 3:11.46 (33.06)
3:44.29 (32.83) 4:17.61 (33.32)
4:50.80 (33.19) 5:23.63 (32.83)
5:57.25 (33.62) 6:30.13 (32.88)
7:03.61 (33.48) 7:36.83 (33.22)
8:10.45 (33.62) 8:44.08 (33.63)
9:18.05 (33.97) 9:51.63 (33.58)
10:25.53 (33.90) 10:59.27 (33.74)
11:32.59 (33.32) 12:06.43 (33.84)
12:40.17 (33.74) 13:14.42 (34.25)
13:47.81 (33.39) 14:22.10 (34.29)
14:55.28 (33.18) 15:28.88 (33.60)
16:01.72 (32.84) 16:34.09 (32.37)
7 TAKAHASHI, MIHO 21 JAPAN 16:08.50 16:39.26 823
r:+0.70 30.06 1:02.59 (32.53)
1:35.30 (32.71) 2:08.25 (32.95)
2:41.24 (32.99) 3:14.37 (33.13)
3:47.60 (33.23) 4:20.98 (33.38)
4:54.17 (33.19) 5:27.69 (33.52)
6:00.91 (33.22) 6:34.41 (33.50)
7:07.74 (33.33) 7:41.07 (33.33)
8:14.40 (33.33) 8:47.77 (33.37)
9:20.93 (33.16) 9:54.55 (33.62)
10:27.85 (33.30) 11:01.54 (33.69)
11:35.15 (33.61) 12:09.24 (34.09)
12:42.87 (33.63) 13:17.17 (34.30)
13:51.15 (33.98) 14:25.14 (33.99)
14:58.96 (33.82) 15:33.10 (34.14)
16:06.70 (33.60) 16:39.26 (32.56)
8 ROBINSON, EMMA 19 NEW ZEALAND 16:37.30 16:44.88 809
r:+0.77 30.24 1:02.84 (32.60)
1:35.88 (33.04) 2:09.51 (33.63)
2:42.74 (33.23) 3:16.74 (34.00)
3:50.36 (33.62) 4:24.06 (33.70)
4:57.95 (33.89) 5:31.79 (33.84)
6:05.31 (33.52) 6:39.19 (33.88)
7:13.24 (34.05) 7:47.13 (33.89)
8:20.84 (33.71) 8:54.23 (33.39)
9:27.69 (33.46) 10:01.52 (33.83)
10:35.18 (33.66) 11:09.00 (33.82)
11:42.45 (33.45) 12:16.33 (33.88)
12:49.79 (33.46) 13:23.94 (34.15)
13:57.36 (33.42) 14:31.25 (33.89)
15:04.67 (33.42) 15:38.99 (34.32)
16:12.48 (33.49) 16:44.88 (32.40)
