Katie Ledecky swims in the women's 400-meter freestyle preliminary at the TYR Pro Swim Series on May 17, 2018 in Indianapolis.
Katie Ledecky didn’t break her own world record in the women’s 800-meter freestyle at the TYR Pro Swim Series meet on Saturday night, but she did register one of the fastest times ever in the event.
The two-time Olympic champion at that distance, who smashed her world record in the 1,500 in her first race as a professional on Wednesday, closed out the meet with another win and a time of 8 minutes, 7.27 seconds in the 800. It wasn’t enough to beat the world record of 8:04.7 she set at the Olympic Games Rio 2016 or her previous world record of 8:06.68 at the 2016 Austin Pro Swim Series, but it is the third-fastest time ever swam in the event. Ledecky now has the top 16 times raced at that distance.
Ledecky’s performance, which gave her a fourth win in four days, was the highlight in a night dominated by U.S. Olympians.
Hali Flickinger came away with the win in the women’s 200-meter butterfly, leading start to finish with a time of 2:08.76. Flickinger was seventh in the same event in Rio. Kelsi Dahlia, who competed in the Rio Olympics as Kelsi Worrell, was second with a time of 2:09.22.
Chase Kalisz added to his strong performances at the meet with a victory in the men’s 200 fly, winning in 1:55.72. Pace Clark also finished in under 2 minutes, with a time of 1:57.93.
Kalisz later doubled down with a win in the 200-meter individual medley with a time of 1:57.63. Jay Litherland was third, finishing in 2:00.55, behind Hungary’s Norbert Szabo’s (2:00.43).
Lilly King, a two-time 2016 gold medalist, earned the victory in the women’s 100 breaststroke, one of the two events she won at the 2016 Games. Saturday night’s event was a cinch for the world-record holder, who finished in 1:05.90, ahead of Melanie Margalis and Emily Weiss, who tied for second place in 1:08.07.
Margalis would later come away with the win in the 200 IM, after setting a personal best in winning the 400 IM Friday night. Her time of 2:10.26 was a season’s best.
Kevin Cordes, who won Olympic gold in the 4x100 medley in 2016, won the top prize in the men’s 100 breaststroke. He had his best time of the year with a time of 1:00.61.
In one of the closest races of the meet, Olivia Smoliga emerged victorious in the women’s 100 backstroke. Her time of 59.78 just edged out second-place finisher Ali Deloof, who was second with a time of 59.79.
Six-time Olympic medalist Matt Grevers won the men’s 100 backstroke in 53.78, followed closely by 2016 Olympian Jacob Pebley with a time of 53.98.
Karen Price is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has covered Olympic sports for various publications. She is a freelance contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
