Katie Ledecky trailed Stanford teammate Ella Eastin at the 300-yard mark as the two went head-to-head in the 400 IM at the women’s Pac-12 championships, but then Ledecky unleashed her freestyle. Ledecky split a ridiculous 52.67 on the way home and pulled into the wall in 3:57.68.
That beat the previous American record of 3:57.89 set by Caitlin Leverenz at the 2012 NCAA championships. Ledecky also improved to second all-time in the event, behind only Katinka Hosszu’s NCAA and U.S. Open record of 3:56.54, also set at the 2012 NCAA championships.
Watch the finish of Ledecky’s race here:
Eastin ended up finishing second in 4:00.96, just off the 4:00.36 she swam at the Ohio State Invite in November that had ranked first in the nation this season before Ledecky’s outburst.
Stanford completed the sweep with Allie Szekely, who touched in 4:02.34. That time ranks fourth in the country this season, behind Ledecky, Eastin and Texas’ Madisyn Cox, who swam a 4:01.15 earlier in the evening.
Event 8 Women 400 Yard IM
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Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
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=== A - Final ===
1 Ledecky, Katie FR STAN-PC 4:01.92 3:57.68 32
26.03 29.15 30.89 29.44
34.74 34.76 26.91 25.76
2 Eastin, Ella SO STAN-PC 4:03.13 4:00.96 28
25.99 29.30 30.06 29.92
34.39 34.57 28.47 28.26
3 Szekely, Allie FR STAN-PC 4:02.70 4:02.34 27
25.86 29.36 29.95 29.27
34.92 35.39 28.92 28.67
4 Cox, Hannah FR ARIZ-AZ 4:10.11 4:07.96 26
26.32 30.31 31.46 30.67
35.87 36.64 28.69 28.00
5 Li, Celina SR CAL-PC 4:09.29 4:09.49 25
26.02 29.66 31.03 31.48
35.54 36.84 29.72 29.20
6 Stevens, Leah SO STAN-PC 4:09.21 4:10.00 24
27.07 31.02 31.66 31.24
35.99 35.89 28.60 28.53
7 Schanz, Emma SO UCLA-CA 4:11.75 4:12.10 23
27.92 31.68 31.75 30.75
35.32 35.36 29.96 29.36
8 Ross, Marlies SO ASU-AZ 4:12.03 4:12.67 22
26.57 31.12 32.27 31.61
34.98 35.86 30.86 29.40
daaaaaaaang !!! ⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️
Force. Of. Nature.
Caitlin Jokubaitis
Sydney Pickrem also has a faster time than Szekely. 4:02.25.
Ledecky is creating a legend, that one day, will rival that of Phelps’.
That day is here I think
Way to go Allie!
Is there anything she can’t do? Wow!
Can’t wait to see her in the next Olympics!!!
Beth Capobianco-Tally
What the? Since when does she do I’m? The 400 I’m is hardest raise in swim; did you notice how out of breath she was?
Stephanie Carpico Antshel
of course she did.
Laurie Ann O’Shea
What can she not do!!!!
She was pretty conservative in the first 100. She has more. I see a 3:54 in the near future. Three more year swimming in yard pools — tall girl with speed, tougheer than nails, huge suit compared to the guys, great aerobic base and continues to improve her strokes each season. Really really hard to beat. Oh and a great student too. Congratulations Katie! You are inspiration to all of us!
Crazy! Love it!
Phenomenal swimmer!
Denise Marion Mc Kinney is this Mia in her 400I.M. This morning?
Tasha Samuela
Brilliant!
Looking forward to seeing her in the worlds in Budapest. With Phelps and Bolt gone, she will be the main star of the Tokyo Olympics.
Is there any event she can’t swim? WOW!???????
She is a swimming machine! Amazing!