Katie Ledecky breaks world record by nearly 10 seconds

Katie Ledecky shattered the world record in the short-course 1500m freestyle by nearly 10 seconds in her first time racing the event in a 25-meter pool at a FINA World Cup meet in Toronto.

Ledecky won the 30-lap race in 15 minutes, 8.24 seconds on Saturday, prevailing by 40.58 seconds and easily breaking the world record of 15:18.01 set by German Sarah Kohler in 2019.

Ledecky already owns the world records in the 800m and 1500m frees in Olympic-size pools, which are 50 meters long.

Ledecky and some other top Americans rarely race in 25-meter pools. This was Ledecky’s second meet in a short-course meters pool since the start of 2014, according to USA Swimming’s database.

On the meet’s first day on Friday, Ledecky was edged in the 400m free by 16-year-old Canadian Summer McIntosh by eight hundredths of a second. They swam the second- and third-fastest times in history.

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Katie Ledecky breaks world record by nearly 10 seconds originally appeared on NBCSports.com