Katie Ledecky won the 1,500-meter freestyle at the Pro Swim Series meet with the world’s fastest time this year.
She touched in 15 minutes, 40.55 seconds in the outdoor pool on Sunday. Ashley Twichell finished second in 16:06.68.
Ledecky’s time was 17 seconds quicker than the second-fastest swimmer, Simona Quadarella who swam 15:57.03 at the recent Italian Olympic trials. Ledecky set the world record of 15:20.48 in 2018.
Katie Ledecky competes in the women's 400-meter freestyle final at the TYR Pro Swim Series swim meet Saturday, April 10, 2021, in Mission Viejo, Calif. Ledecky finished first. (AP PhotoAshley Landis)
Ledecky’s 800 split would have won the individual event in Mission Viejo and would have been the world’s fastest this year as well. Her final time in the 1,500 would have been good enough to place third in the men's event, won by Jordan Wilimovsky in 15:10.44.
The women's 1,500 will be an Olympic event for the first time at the Tokyo Games.