The world record that Katie Ledecky set in the 800 freestyle last Saturday during the Fort Lauderdale stop of the 2025 Pro Swim Series continues to captivate the swimming community. Each day, new statistics emerge that elevate both the record and Ledecky’s legacy to even greater heights.
At 28 years old, Ledecky becomes the fifth-oldest female swimmer to set a long course world record. Ahead of her are three sprinters specializing in 50-meter events and one swimmer who set a 400 IM record back in 1955.
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What’s striking is that none of these athletes specialized in distance events like the 800 or 1500 freestyle—except for Ledecky. In fact, among women in long course meters, the next oldest to set a world record in the 800 freestyle was American Lenore Kight, who achieved this feat in 1935 at the age of 23.
Expanding the scope to include short course meters and male swimmers introduces other names, yet Ledecky still stands out. Only one swimmer older than her has set a world record in distance events: Australia’s Grant Hackett, who, in 2008, established a short course world record in the men’s 800 freestyle that stood for 15 years. At the time, he was 28 years and 72 days old—just 25 days older than Ledecky was when she set her latest world record.
Oldest swimmers to set a world record in distance events
| Swimmer | Event | Course | Time | Year | Age |
| Grant Hackett (AUS) | Men’s 800 | SCM | 7:23.42 | 2008 |
28 years, 72 days
|
| Katie Ledecky (USA) | Women’s 800 | LCM | 8:04.12 | 2025 |
28 years, 47 days
|
| Lauren Boyle (NZL) | Women’s 1500 | SCM | 15:22.68 | 2014 |
26 years, 238 days
|
| Vladimir Salnikov (URS) | Men’s 800 | LCM | 7:50.64 | 1986 |
26 years, 44 days
|
| Arne Borg (SWE) | Men’s 1500 | LCM | 19:07.20 | 1927 |
26 years, 15 days
|
| Katie Ledecky (USA) | Women’s 800 | SCM | 7:57.42 | 2022 |
25 years, 233 days
|
| Katie Ledecky (USA) | Women’s 1500 | SCM | 15:08.24 | 2022 |
25 years, 226 days
|
| Murray Rose (AUS) | Men’s 1500 | LCM | 17:01.80 | 1964 |
25 years, 209 days
|
| Sarah Kohler (GER) | Women’s 1500 | SCM | 15:18.01 | 2019 |
25 years, 149 days
|
| Grant Hackett (AUS) | Men’s 800 | LCM | 7:38.65 | 2005 |
25 years, 79 days
|
| Michael Burton (USA) | Men’s 1500 | LCM | 15:52.58 | 1972 |
25 years, 63 days
|
| Arne Borg (SWE) | Men’s 1500 | LCM | 20:04.4 | 1926 | 25 years, 0 days |
| Bobby Finke (USA) | Men’s 1500 | LCM | 14:30.67 | 2024 |
24 years, 272 days
|
| Florian Wellbrock (GER) | Men’s 1500 | SCM | 14:06.88 | 2021 |
24 years, 124 days
|
| Mireia Belmonte (ESP) | Women’s 1500 | SCM | 15:19.71 | 2014 |
24 years, 32 days
|
| Arne Borg (SWE) | Men’s 800 | LCM | 10:37.40 | 1925 | 24 years, 7 days |
| Lenore Kight (USA) | Women’s 800 | LCM | 11:34.40 | 1935 |
23 years, 298 days
|
Interestingly, Ledecky appears twice more on this list, with two short course world records set in 2022 at the age of 25.
Another compelling statistic relates to the time span between her first and most recent world records. This week, Barry Revzin provided an insightful analysis of Ledecky’s longevity. According to his article, the longest interval between a swimmer’s first and last world records belongs to Sarah Sjostrom, spanning 14 years. Ledecky follows closely with nearly 12 years between her first world record (1500 freestyle in 2013) and her latest in the 800 freestyle.
However, when focusing on world records in the same event, Ledecky is unparalleled. Between her first world record in the 800 freestyle, set during the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, and her current record, 11 years and 273 days have elapsed. The next closest is France’s Franck Esposito, who set world records in the 200 butterfly (short course meters) over a span of just under 11 years.
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Curiously, Sjostrom doesn’t appear on this particular list, as the world record she set in 2009 was in the 100-meter butterfly, and 14 years later, in 2023, she broke the record in the 50-meter freestyle.
Historically, no swimmer—male or female, in long or short course pools—has broken world records in events over 200 meters after the age of 30. As we look ahead to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, could Ledecky be the first to achieve this milestone?
Fun Fact:
Of the Top 40 All-Time Performances in the W 1500 FR, Katie Ledecky is the only female swimmer whose name is listed more than once.
Katie Ledecky still has time to knock Lotte Friis out of the Top 25 All-Time Performances in the W 1500 FR and Rebecca Adlington out of the Top 50 All-Time Performances in the W 800 FR.
Make it so.
She is amazing and I love how she continues to surprise us!! Never give up y’all!
As long as Ledecky swims in events I will cheer her on.
I would love to see her be the oldest swimmer to break a world record.
My theory is that Katie Ledecky is an alien, and is only 19 in Gongrukian years.