Katie Ledecky Smashes Two Records With 14:59.62 1650 Free on Day 4 of Katie Ledecky Invite

2025 Katie Ledecky Invitational

• December 11-14, 2025
• Eppley Recreation Center – College Park, MD
• 25 yards (SCY), Prelims/Finals
• Psych Sheet
• Results on Meet Mobile: “2025 Katie Ledecky Invitational”
• Live web results

The Katie Ledecky Invitational ended with a bang as the superstar herself made history in her only race of the meet on the final day of competition.

Katie Ledecky took on the 1650 free Sunday evening, stopping the clock in a stunning time of 14:59.62 and becoming the first woman in history to go under 15 minutes in this event. That performance knocked almost two seconds off of her lifetime best and smashed Ledecky’s own American and U.S. Open Records.

Her previous U.S. Open and American Records stood at 15:01.41, which she posted at the Florida Senior Spring Championships back in March 2023.

The 28-year-old Olympic gold medalist now owns the eight fastest swims in history in the 1650 free, with Erica Sullivan taking the #9 spot thanks to her top time of 15:23.81 from 2019.

The fastest performance behind Ledecky on Sunday night came from 14-year-old Milly Birch of Asphalt Green United Aquatics. Birch won the 14 & under age group in 16:35.54, knocking over six seconds off of her personal best which she had previously set just one month prior.

Her performance marked the 2nd-fastest time in the country so far this season in the 13-14 age group in the event.

It was the latest in a string of top swims from Birch this weekend, as earlier in the meet she won her age group in the 200 free (1:49.36), 500 free (4:49.20) and 1000 free (10:00.18), logging best times and climbing the national rankings in each event.

Open-Age Division Highlights

• Long Island Aquatic Club’s James Darcy took home the title in the 1000 free, racing into the wall in a best time of 9:02.69 and dropping just under four seconds from his previous lifetime best (9:06.55). The 17-year-old secured the victory by a significant margin, beating out runner-up Tyler Kominski (9:09.91) by over seven seconds; the pair were the only two swimmers under 9:10 in the field. Darcy’s performance bumped him up to #16 on the ranking of top times this season in the 17-18 age group in the event.
• Quinn Caputo won the 200 back in 1:45.57, shaving .28 off of his best time from prelims (1:45.85) and clocking the only sub-1:47 time in the field. Caputo, who is set to swim for Texas A&M next fall, came into the meet with a personal best time of 1:48.86 from this meet last year, marking a huge improvement in his time on Sunday and tying him at 42nd on this season’s ranking of top times in his age group.
• 15-year-old Charlotte VanDerzee of Chelsea Piers clinched the win in the 100 free, throwing down a time of 49.97 to break the 50 second barrier for the first time. That swim ranks her 26th in the country so far this season in the girls’ 15-16 100 free. VanDerzee was also the only competitor to go sub-50 on Sunday evening, with runner-up Eila Spaman stopping the clock in a personal best time of 50.62.

Age Group Highlights

• Mackey Tolar of NCAP delivered a top performance in the girls’ 200 back, throwing down a massive best time of 1:59.95. She was the only competitor to break 2:00, beating out runner-up Madison Suchecki (2:00.78) by nearly a second. Tolar’s swim took two full seconds off of her previous lifetime best (2:02.03), which she had just posted in November, and marked the 12th-fastest time in the 13-14 age group in the event this season.
• 12-year-old Vanessa Delev of Badger Swim Club took home the title in the 200 free, charging into the wall in 1:56.12. Delev’s performance shaved .66 off of her personal best and handed her the victory by over 2.5 seconds; the closest swimmer behind her was 11-year-old teammate Madison Lord, who touched in a best time of 1:58.91.
• Madison Suchecki, who swims for the Suburban Seahawks, continued her dominant streak by blasting a lifetime best time of 2:02.63 in the 200 IM to take 1st in the event. The 14-year-old knocked an impressive four seconds off of her time and secured the win by a margin of almost three seconds. She now ranks 11th in the country in her age group this season in this event. Suchecki’s victory in the 200 IM was the culmination of a successful weekend, highlighted by wins in the 100 breast, 200 breast and 400 IM, along with new personal best times in each of those events.
• 10-year-old Jax Torba picked up his fifth victory of the meet in the 100 IM, racing into the wall in a personal best time of 1:05.33 to knock over two seconds off of his time. Torba, who represents QNS Aquatic Club, got his hand on the wall almost two seconds ahead of 2nd-place finisher Nathan Lee and leapt up the national rankings, landing at 3rd in the country in the 10 & under age group for the 100 IM.
• Asphalt Green’s Flip Smit van Riel enjoyed a top swim in the boys’ 10 & under 200 free, winning the event in 2:15.37. He dropped over 10 seconds to secure the victory, narrowly outtouching runner-up Tristan Palme (2:15.59). Smit van Riel has lowered his lifetime best in this event by a total of 22 seconds since the start of the season, and now ranks 77th on the list of top times in his age group in the 200 free so far this season. His win in the 200 free marked his second individual gold of the weekend after winning the 100 free (1:02.12) earlier in the meet.
• Anna Ringh of Long Island Aquatic Club showed off her prowess in the pool during the 100 fly, winning the event by over four seconds with a time of 1:04.79. Ringh shaved .61 off of her personal best, marking her first time under the 1:05 barrier and clocking the 3rd-fastest time in the country in the 10 & under age group in the event this season. She now sits at #47 all-time in her age group in this event, sharing the spot with Piper McNeil‘s time from 2016.
• 14-year-old Evangelos Diamantis, who swims for Long Island Aquatic Club, dropped over 18 seconds in the 1000 free and broke 10 minutes for the first time en route to posting a time of 9:57.41. He now sits at #44 on the ranking of top times this season in the boys’ 13-14 1000 free.