Katie Ledecky commenced the Toyota U.S. Swimming Championships by clinching the 800m freestyle with a time of 8:05.76, marking the third-fastest performance in history. This victory extends her impressive 15-year win streak in this event and qualifies her for the World Championships in Singapore scheduled for July and August. Her time is just shy of her own world record of 8:04.12, set earlier this year. Notably, Ledecky is on track to become the first U.S. swimmer to participate in a seventh World Championships, according to historian Bill Mallon.
The championships continued with several noteworthy performances. Torri Huske won the women’s 100m freestyle, setting a new American pool record with a time of 52.43, which is also the fastest globally this year. Meanwhile, Olympic champion Bobby Finke dominated the 1500m freestyle, winning by a convincing 9.18 seconds, maintaining his unbeaten streak against American competitors since 2020. In the men’s 100m freestyle, Jack Alexy achieved the second-fastest time in American history (46.99) during the prelims and ultimately won the final in 47.17.
Luca Urlando bested the men’s 200m butterfly with a time of 1:53.42, solidifying his position as the world’s fastest in this event for 2025. Rising star Caroline Bricker overtook Olympic silver medalist Regan Smith in the women’s 200m butterfly, finishing at 2:05.80, and significantly improving her personal best by over three seconds. This performance places her as the fifth-fastest American in history for the event, surpassing 2000 Olympic gold medalist Misty Hyman. The championships are slated to continue with finals at 7 p.m. ET on Peacock.
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