Katie Ledecky Wins Sixth 1500-Meter Freestyle World Title

Forbes

3 days ago

Singapore, Singapore - July 29: World Champion Katie Ledecky of USA competing in the Women 1500m ... More Freestyle Final Swimming event on day 19 of the Singapore 2025 World Aquatics Championships at WCH Arena on July 29, 2025 in Singapore. (Photo by Albert ten Hove/Marcel ter Bals/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images)
In the last five years, swimmers have begun to catch, or even surpass, Katie Ledecky in the 400- and 800-meter freestyle. But at the 2025 World Aquatic Championships, Ledecky proved once again that there is no one better in the 1500-meter freestyle.
She won her sixth world title in the event on Tuesday at the championships in Singapore, finishing in 15:26.44. Ledecky attacked the race, opening well under her world record pace. She flipped at the 800-meter mark in 8:09.85, which would be the 13th fastest swim in that distance. Except Ledecky kept swimming, another 700 meters left in her race.
Ledecky fell off her world record pace during the final third of the race. Still, she finished over five seconds ahead of her competition, swimming the fifth fastest time of her career.
'I love this race,' Ledecky told World Aquatics after securing the gold medal. 'This is the race where I broke my first world record in 2013. Lots of great races and memories over the years, happy to do it [again]
The win continued Ledecky's 15-year-undefeated streak in the 1500-meter freestyle. She has not lost this race since she was 13 years old. In that time, she has won the event's world title six times, only missing the 2019 edition due to illness and the 2024 World Championships to prepare for the Olympic Games. The event was introduced to the women's Olympic schedule for the Tokyo Games and Ledecky won the race there and then again last summer in Paris.
But like her other races, swimmers are starting to catch up. Despite winning by over five seconds, this was Ledecky's closest 1500-meter freestyle victory at the Olympic or World Championship level since 2013.
Italy's Simona Quadarella, who won this race at the 2024 World Championships in Ledecky's absence, unleashed a lifetime best by nearly ten seconds. She swam 15:31.79, becoming the second-fastest performer in history by surpassing the European record Dane Lotte Friis swam in 2013. Her swim slots in as the 12th fastest performance in the women's 1500-meter freestyle, breaking Ledecky's hold on the top 25 times in event history.
Quadarella used a strong back half to earn her silver medal. But Ledecky had company over the opening third of the race as well. Bronze medalist Lani Pallister went out under world record pace with Ledecky. The Australian said after the race 'I was just trying to stick with her for as long as I [could]
and see how long I could hold on for.' Over a decade into her career, Ledecky is still setting the pace in women's distance freestyle.
Ledecky seems to welcome the challenge from her competitors. 'It's great to push the sport forward all together,' she said. 'Simona had the second-fastest performer swim of all time tonight. Lani had a great time tonight and earlier this year. All the events in the distance freestyles are moving forward, both on the women's and men's side…it's fun to be a part of.'
Singapore, Singapore - July 29: Gold for Katie Ledecky of USA, Silver for Simona Quadarella of ... More Italy, Bronze for Lani Pallister of Australia during the medal ceremony after competing in the Women 1500m Freestyle Swimming event on day 19 of the Singapore 2025 World Aquatics Championships at WCH Arena on July 29, 2025 in Singapore. (Photo by Albert ten Hove/Marcel ter Bals/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images)
As her competitors inch closer to her on the scoreboard, Ledecky's gold medal tonight pushed her into more historic territory in the medal table. This was Ledecky's 22nd World Championship gold medal. It is her 28th medal of any color, moving her out of a tie with Ryan Lochte for the second most World Championship medals. Only Michael Phelps has more, having won 33 World Championship medals during his career.
Ledecky is also nearing Phelps in gold medals, now just four behind his 26 career world titles. She will not be able to catch him in either gold or total medals at these World Championships. Ledecky has just two events remaining on her schedule.
First, she will compete in the women's 4x200-meter freestyle relay for the U.S., before facing Summer McIntosh in the 800-meter freestyle for their second individual showdown of the week. The 800-meter freestyle race between them is one of the most hotly anticipated events of the competition. Ledecky broke her 800-meter freestyle world record in May with an 8:04.12; McIntosh rattled that mark a month later at Canadian Trials, swimming 8:05.07. That event final will take place Saturday, August 2.