Katie Ledecky, for the second time on Thursday, has broken her own Junior World Record in the girls’ 200 meter freestyle, just 7 hours after breaking the old record.
In finals, she swam a 1:55.16, which broke the 1:55.75 that she swam in prelims. That gave Ledecky not only the record, but a new lifetime best and her first career National Championship in this distance. She pipped runner-up Missy Franklin (1:56.40) after finishing 2nd to Franklin at both Summer Nationals and Winter Nationals in 2013.
Ledecky (Old Record): 27.35/28.94/30.03/29.47 = 1:55.79
Ledecky (AM Record): 27.73/28.87/29.82/29.33 = 1:55.75
Ledecky (PM Record): 27.66/28.98/29.58/28.94 = 1:55.16
Despite the fantastic time for Ledecky, she was still unable to go out as fast as she did at the Potomac Valley Long Course Senior Championships in mid-July on the front-half. There seems to be a deliberate change of tactics from that meet to this meet, with Ledecky putting in a furious second 100 meters.
Franklin, though it was done before FINA was recognizing Junior World Records, still has the National Age Group Record of 1:54.81 and the all-time Junior World Best (17 & under at the end of the year) of 1:55.06,
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