2025 U.S. World Trials Previews: Ledecky Poised To Extend Her 1500 Freestyle Reign

2025 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Tuesday, June 3 – Saturday, June 7, 2025
• Indianapolis, Indiana
• Indiana University Natatorium
• LCM (50 meters)
• Meet Central
• World Championship Selection Criteria
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results

WOMEN’S 1500 FREESTYLE – BY THE NUMBERS:

• World Record: 15:20.48, Katie Ledecky (USA) – 2018 Pro Swim Series, Indianapolis
• American Record:  15:20.48, Katie Ledecky (USA) – 2018 Pro Swim Series, Indianapolis
• U.S. Open Record: 15:20.48, Katie Ledecky (USA) – 2018 Pro Swim Series, Indianapolis
• World Junior Record: 15:28.36, Katie Ledecky (USA) — 2014 Pan Pacific Championships, Gold Coast

The women’s 1500 freestyle is featured in the final week of our previews for the upcoming U.S. National Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana, which kick off on Tuesday, June 3rd, and run through Saturday, June 7th.

Two questions loom at this race: How fast will Katie Ledecky swim seven weeks out from Worlds, and who will rise to claim the second roster spot? A compelling mix of established low-16-minute swimmers and rising challengers will all be aiming to punch their ticket to Singapore alongside the queen of freestyle.

LEDECKY’S DYNASTY

Katie Ledecky (Photo Credit: Chris Pose)

Ledecky is the undisputed favorite to win the 1500 at next week’s World Trials. She’s the world record holder, two-time reigning Olympic champion (2021, 2024), and a five-time world champion in the event (2013, 2015, 2017, 2022, 2023). Ledecky has never lost the 1500 on the international stage and hasn’t been beaten domestically since before she turned 15.

She has topped the world rankings in the 1500 every year since 2013 and is coming off another dominant showing in Paris, where she won Olympic gold in 15:30.02—a time that ranked 8th all-time at the moment and now sits 9th. Remarkably, Ledecky owns the 22 fastest performances ever recorded in the event.

All-Time Top Performances, Women’s 1500 LCM Freestyle:

1. 15:20.48 – 2018 Pro Swim Series – Indianapolis
2. 15:24.51 — 2025 Pro Swim Series – Fort Lauderdale
3. 15:25.48 – 2015 World Championships
4. 15:26.27 – 2023 World Championships
5. 15:27.71 – 2015 World Championships (prelims)
6. 15:28.36 – 2014 Pan Pacific Championships
7. 15:29.51 – 2020 Pro Swim Series – Des Moines
8. 15:29.64 – 2023 U.S. National Championships
9. 15:30.02 – 2024 Olympic Games
10. 15:30.15 – 2022 World Championships
11. 15:31.82 – 2017 World Championships
12. 15:34.23 – 2014 TWST Senior Invitational
13. 15:35.35 – 2021 Olympic Games
14. 15:35.65 – 2017 Pro Swim Series – Santa Clara
15. 15:35.98 – 2019 U.S. Open
16. 15:36.53 – 2013 World Championships
17. 15:36.87 – 2025 Southern Zone South Sectionals
18. 15:37.34 – 2021 Olympic Games
19. 15:37.35 – 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials
20. 15:37.99 – 2023 Pro Swim Series – Knoxville
21. 15:38.25 – 2024 Atlanta Classic
22. 15:38.81 – 2024 Pro Swim Series – Knoxville

After not touching her best time in the 1500 since 2018—when she set the current world record of 15:20.48 at the Indianapolis Pro Series stop—Ledecky delivered the second-fastest performance of all time earlier this month, clocking a 15:24.51 at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim Series. She followed that up with the second-best mark of her career in the 400 free, then went on to shatter her nine-year-old world record in the 800 free.

Ledecky could add nearly 30 seconds to her season-best and still likely qualify for the World Championships—a cushion no other swimmer in the field, or in any other event, enjoys.

WHO ARE THE FAVORITES FOR 2ND?

Katie Grimes (Photo Credit: Jack Spitser)

With Ledecky in the field, barring a shocking disqualification, everyone is simply swimming for second place.

Katie Grimes, on paper, is the favorite to nab the final roster spot, but she hasn’t matched her personal best in this event since the 2022 World Championships, where she joined Ledecky on the podium with a silver medal-worthy 15:44.57. If Grimes can get anywhere near that time, she should lock up a return to the Worlds roster. However, if she lands closer to her recent efforts—15:57.77 at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, 16:01.47 at the 2023 World Championships, or 16:12.11 at the 2024 Paris Olympics—she could find herself in some trouble.

Grimes, who joined the Virginia Cavaliers in January, appears to still be adjusting to the program’s training style, as many first-year college swimmers do. The time period varies by individual, depending on how their training background correlates to their new training environment.

At the ACC Championships in late February, Grimes told SwimSwam she had been unsure about racing the mile this season, saying, “I just haven’t really been sure about the mile. The coaches have given me a lot of freedom about which route I want to take, which is really challenging for me because usually I just kind of do what I’m told. Now I kind of have to think for myself, which I like. I feel like I’m growing as a swimmer and learning what I want to do. Having them support me with whichever events I want to swim, and really just having fun at practice—I love going to practice. It’s like my favorite part of the day now. Even if it’s a practice where I know we’re going to get killed, it’s just a lot of fun to be there with my teammates and have a good energy on deck.”

She ultimately decided to race it at NCAAs, over the 200 back and 200 fly, which were her other considerations, touching 13th in 15:56.31—well off her 15:26.17 best time that would have won the event by over four seconds.

Whether she chooses to swim the 1500 at Nationals remains unclear, but she skipped the event at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim Series, instead focusing on her bread-and-butter 400 IM, along with the 200 fly, 200 back, and 800 free—which leads us to believe she may end up scratching the event, especially if she qualifies for the 400 IM earlier in the meet.

Jillian Cox (Photo Credit: Jack Spitser)

The most prominent challenger to Grimes is Jillian Cox, who is having a breakout freshman season under her primary coach, Erik Posegay, at the University of Texas. Cox entered the season with SCY bests of 4:36.93 (500 free) and 15:58.68 (1650 free) and obliterated both, clocking 4:30.68 and 15:30.33 earlier in the season before winning both titles at NCAAs.

In the midst of her breakout year, Cox competed at the 2024 World Short Course Championships in Budapest, where she swam an unseeded morning heat of the 1500 and still managed to take bronze with a 15:41.29. That performance came shortly after Texas’ midseason invite and through a hard winter training cycle. The time converts to somewhere around the low-16:00 range in long course meters.

Earlier this month, Cox lowered her long course best in the 1500 from 16:07.29 to 16:04.13 at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim Series, her first long course meet since last summer’s Olympic Trials. That performance came just a month post-NCAAs and suggests a sub-16:00 swim is well within reach.

Cox will also open her Trials campaign with the 800 free—an event where she made the 2023 senior Worlds team and owns a PB of 8:19.73 from placing 6th in the final last year. She recently beat fellow contender Claire Weinstein in that event at Fort Lauderdale, touching in 8:23.58 to Weinstein’s 8:26.06, despite Weinstein posting PBs in the 200 and 400 earlier in the meet.

If Cox can translate even a portion of her short course improvements to long course, a major drop in the 1500 is on the table. The real question: how far under 16 minutes can she go?

Weinstein, who clocked a 16:09.85 in the 1500 back in 2023, appears to have shifted her focus to the 800 and shorter pool events alongside open water. She is entered in all freestyle races from 100 to 1500 at Nationals, but it remains unclear if she will swim it, as she didn’t at Trials last year and has only raced it once in the past year—back in January, when she logged 16:35.75.

That said, the 1500 is scheduled for the final day of competition, after all those races, so it could still fit nicely into her program if she wants to test herself in the event.

OTHER CONTENDERS

Kate Hurst (Photo Credit: Jack Spitser)

Fellow Longhorn freshman Kate Hurst might not be well-known at the senior level yet, but that could change after Trials. She won the 1500 free at the 2023 World Junior Championships, swimming her current personal best of 16:09.37. Following that, she competed at the 2024 World Championships in Doha, where she placed 9th in the 1500 free prelims with a time of 16:17.83.

Later, at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, Hurst finished 4th in the 1500 free with a nearly identical time of 16:09.77. This season, she made her mark at the 2024 World Short Course Championships, where she finished 11th in the 1500 free with a time of 15:55.11, and also raced at the NCAA Championships. Most recently, she clocked a season best of 16:14.26 for 3rd place behind Ledecky and Cox at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim Series.

While a spot on the World Championships team may be tough to secure this season, Hurst is in contention for the World University Games roster. The top two finishers will make Worlds, and the 3rd place finisher is likely to get first dibs on the WUGs roster.

Future Indiana Hoosier Kayla Han was the other American entrant in the 1500 free at the 2023 World Junior Championships, where she finished 5th in a tightly contested race with a time of 16:19.07—missing a medal by less than a second. Since then, she’s gained valuable experience, representing the U.S. in multiple events at the 2024 World Championships. Han is no stranger to the Trials stage either, having been the youngest competitor at the 2021 meet at just 13 years old.

Han’s career best of 16:16.94, set at the 2023 Junior National Championships, is a bit slower than Hurst’s, but Han only just turned 17 and still has significant room for improvement. She’s already notched a 16:28.92 this season—a solid in-season effort that suggests a PB could be on the horizon.

Paige Downey, the 2024 Junior Pan Pac champion and another Indiana commit, along with St. Petersburg Aquatics’ Brinkleigh Hansen—born in 2008 and 2009, respectively—are two rising stars to keep an eye on. While they may not be in the hunt for the top two spots this year, that could change in the near future. Downey has logged a lifetime best of 16:24.58, and Hansen has clocked 16:41.69.

Hansen already won the 10K at Open Water Nationals, earning a spot on the U.S. roster for Worlds.

Speaking of open water, and Indiana—Mariah Denigan has built a strong reputation in that realm, representing the U.S. at every major international competition since 2022 and recently qualifying in the 5K for Worlds in Singapore. In the pool, however, her 1500 free performances have shown a gradual decline. After clocking a career best of 16:12.44 in 2022, she notched season bests of 16:19.02 in 2023 and 16:22.28 in 2024.

Denigan hasn’t raced any long course meets since the Olympic Trials, where she placed 8th in 16:34.19. However, if she returns anywhere near her personal best, she’s immediately a threat to challenge the upper tier of the top 8.

Florida’s Michaela Mattes is another name to watch. Mattes had a big showing in this event in Fort Lauderdale, throwing down a personal best of 16:21.06 to take 4th in a crowded field. Prior to that time, she hadn’t set a lifetime best in the event since the 2022 Junior Pan Pacific Championships, where she claimed gold in a time of 16:24.02. With the mental barrier of a best time out of the way, she might be in for a big swim.

Mila Nikanorov, a freshman at Ohio State, is another NCAA swimmer who could throw her name into the mix. She owns a personal best of 16:27.05, has a season-best of 16:53.45, and placed 10th at Olympic Trials.

Nebraska junior Gena Jorgenson placed 12th at last summer’s Olympic Trials with her current best of 16:30.67 but hasn’t raced the event in long course meters since. However, she broke the 15:50 barrier in yards for the first time in her career this past March. If she can transfer that improvement to the big pool, she has a solid shot at cracking 16:30 and posting a time that puts her in the top-8 conversation.

Kennedi Dobson, a Georgia commit with a seed time of 16:33.46, could also factor into the race. However, she’s heavily entered across events and is expected to be a stronger contender in the 200 and 400 freestyle, and possibly the 800.

Cal’s Maya Geringer sits between them on the psych sheets with a best time of 16:26.66, but her current form is uncertain—she hasn’t competed in any long course meets so far this year. However, she dropped eight seconds from her 1650-yard lifetime best this past NCAA season after transferring from Ohio State to use her fifth year at Cal, which could be a promising sign.

It’s worth noting that former Stanford standout Aurora Roghair likely would’ve been a top-8 contender here—potentially even in the mix for a Worlds roster spot. However, she announced her retirement from the sport following the conclusion of the NCAA season. Similarly, the Georgia duo of Rachel Stege and Abby McCulloh have also recently retired, removing them both from contention.

SwimSwam’s Picks

Dark Horse: Ellie Clarke — Another non-collegiate athlete to keep an eye on is Carmel Swim Club’s Ellie Clarke, who impressed in Fort Lauderdale by clocking a personal best of 16:38.64 for 9th place—an improvement from her previous best of 16:45.42 just a month earlier. Prior to that, she had never broken the 17-minute barrier, with a PB of 17:16.73. Clarke is only 14 years old, so another significant time drop and a top-8 finish wouldn’t be a huge surprise. However, she’s incredibly versatile and may not even swim the 1500 given her strength in other events, including the 100 back (1:00.43), 200 back (2:11.68), 200 fly (2:12.43), and 400 IM (4:45.45). That said, the 1500 is scheduled on the final day of competition, after all of those races, so it could still fit nicely into her program.