2025 Katie Ledecky Invitational
- December 11-14, 2025
- University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
- Short Course Yards (25 yards)
- Psych Sheets
Global swimming superstar Katie Ledecky isn’t racing at this week’s U.S. Open, but that doesn’t mean that she won’t be racing this December.
Instead, Ledecky will travel back to her home state of Maryland to race at her home club’s annual December invite, which this year has renamed in her honor.
Ledecky will race at the former NCAP Invite (also previously the Tom Dolan Invitational), which is now called the Katie Ledecky Invitational. She will attend the meet to sign autographs on Saturday and on Sunday will race in the 1650 yard free.
NCAP was Ledecky’s childhood club, and she raced at this meet at least three other times before leaving for college: 2011, 2014, and 2015.
The meet is often used as an alternative winter championship by large teams from the Northeast not travelling to the Winter Junior Championships meet, with clubs like the Long Island Aquatic Club, Badger Swim Club (NY), Wilmington Aquatic Club, Asphalt Green, Ridgefield Aquatic Club, Suburban Seahawks Swim Club, and Machine Aquatics sending large contingents to compete.
Ledecky, 28, has affirmed her intention to race on home soil at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, where the 800 free, her signature event, is the last individual final of the swimming portion on the final day of the Olympics – a potential zenith to crown the career of one of the greatest athletes in history. She is the four-time defending Olympic Champion in that event, among 9 career gold and 14 career total medals at the Olympic Games.
She is the current World Record holder in the 800 and 1500 freestyles in long course and the 1500 in short course.
In the 1650 yard free, an event that she has only raced twice since finishing her NCAA career in 2018, no other swimmer has been within 22 seconds of her best time.
Long ago, this meet used to be called the “Joe Jacoby Invitational,” named after a legendary OT for the Washington NFL team.
“Joe Jacoby Chrysler Jeep Holiday Invitational” (if anyone was curious why they named it after a football player, like I was…it was because a car dealership named after him sponsored the meet lol.
I’m not sure that Jacoby could have finished a 25 free, and that’s even more concerning when you think that he was 6’6″/~300# during his career. That would have taken a team of lifeguards to rescue him.
I’m pretty sure that Jacoby had a daughter who swam for CUBU/NCAP.
https://www.usms.org/fitness-and-training/articles-and-videos/articles/former-cleveland-browns-star-joe-thomas-tackles-weight-loss-in-the-pool
Yes, Joe had a daughter on the team. He used to time at the meets and go on travel meets as a chaperone.
Not sure what can of turnout they can expect if they only invite swimmers named “Katie Ledecky”.
It would be a fun prank to not let her in with a reason: you do not have the qualifications
😂
https://www.gomotionapp.com/pvma/__eventform__/1489909_b7ccbcaf-7cd8-47e2-aa13-c43d0d21776d.pdf
Psych sheet
what if you beat the person the meet was named after?
If you have a lane, you have a chance right?
This sounds like the plot of a 2000s Disney Channel original movie
“So get this — it’s The Mighty Ducks but….they’re in the *pool*!”
What a moment, getting to swim at the meet that now holds her name. Imagine the honor racing Katie as a 16- or 17-year old in the A final of the mile, especially if a record goes down. What a cool full-circle moment for sure!
Could easily be 6 laps behind, 8 in some cases
I’d struggle so hard with paying attention to my own race. “I wonder what pace Katie’s holding right now”
I would blow it out to be in first place at the 50 turn and have my parents in the crowd ready to get a picture of the board when my name pops up in 1st and her in 2nd lol.
Probably a very hard stat to keep track of, but does anyone know if this is the first time a swimmer will have competed in a meet that’s named in honor of them? Kinda cool if so.
Off the top of my head, Sarah Sjöström raced at Sjöström Invitational last year.
Adam Peaty also has a meet
Ohh, Sjostrom is definitely in the all time great category with Ledecky.
O’Neil raced in pool named after herself at a home olympics
This isn’t exactly the same, but Ian Thorpe competed at a couple of meets at the Ian Thorpe Acquatics Center.
This year was the 10th Annual Matt Biondi SCY Masters Meet. A swimmer going by the name of Matt Biondi has competed in said meet.
There’s probably a Greek athlete named “Olympia” or “Olympios” who has competed at the Olympics. Maybe even in Athens in 2004.
The LA Invitational was renamed the Janet Evans Invitational in the 90s and Janet swam there many times. That was her first USS meet back when she decided to come back in 2011.
Ledecky set the American record for 1000y Free 8:59.65 (which still stands today) at this meet 10 years ago!
That’s insane for a woman’s time
At that time, no other woman had broken 4:30 in the 500 alone, yet here Katie was basically doing two straight 4:29s
Looking at the current UMD record board, it has the 8:59.65 pool record for the 1000. The pool record for the 500 is Ledecky 4:30+. So I suspect that 500 record was actually her split (i.e. she negative split the race).