Katie Ledecky Swims 15:24.51 in Ft. Lauderdale, #2 1500 Free Swim All-Time

2025 Pro Swim Series – Fort Lauderdale

Katie Ledecky kicked off the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim Series with a bang, as she swum the second fastest 1500 freestyle in history to win the event by nearly 40 seconds over Jillian Cox, who set a new best time by more than three seconds in 16:04.13. She now holds the top 22 times in history in the event.

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

  1. Katie Ledecky — 15:20.48 (2018)
  2. Katie Ledecky — 15:24.41 (2025)
  3. Katie Ledecky — 15:25.48 (2015)
  4. Katie Ledecky — 15:26.27 (2023)
  5. Katie Ledecky — 15:27.71 (2015)
  6. Katie Ledecky — 15:28.36 (2014)
  7. Katie Ledecky — 15:29.51 (2020)
  8. Katie Ledecky — 15:29.64 (2023)
  9. Katie Ledecky — 15:30.02 (2024)
  10. Katie Ledecky — 15:30.15 (2022)
  11. Katie Ledecky — 15:31.82 (2017)
  12. Katie Ledecky — 15:34.23 (2014)
  13. Katie Ledecky — 15:35.35 (2020)
  14. Katie Ledecky — 15:35.65 (2017)
  15. Katie Ledecky — 15:35.98 (2019)
  16. Katie Ledecky — 15:36.53 (2013)
  17. Katie Ledecky — 15:36.87 (2025)
  18. Katie Ledecky — 15:37.34 (2021)
  19. Katie Ledecky — 15:37.35 (2024)
  20. Katie Ledecky — 15:37.99 (2023)
  21. Katie Ledecky — 15:38.25 (2024)
  22. Katie Ledecky — 15:38.81 (2024)

This was a full 5.5 seconds faster than her winning time in Paris last summer, and 12 seconds faster than she was back in February at the Southern Zone Sectionals.

Ledecky was right on world record pace for the first 500 metres, turning just o.5 off World record pace in 5:07.33. She stayed within around a second through the next third of the race, flipping at the 1000m mark just 1.2 seconds over record pace. She had been 8:12.76 at the 800m mark, a time only Ariarne Titmus and Summer McIntosh have been faster than in an individual 800 race and good enough for bronze (behind herself and Titmus) in Paris last summer.

Her splits crept up from 30-highs to 31-lows through the next 300 metres, as the record slowly pulled away from her at a sun-soaked Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center. She dropped that back down through the next 150 metres, before closing in 29.69. Ledecky had closed like an absolute train back in 2018, splitting 5:05.65 which was her fastest 500 split of the race. She swam slightly differently this time around, going out almost the same in the first 500 but holding incredibly consistent pace in the next two 500’s with a pair of 5:08s.

Below you can see a splits comparison between tonight’s swim and her World record from 2018. She split remarkably closely over the first 100 tonight to that swim, but couldn’t quite live the rampant pace of the final 500 – much like the rest of the world.

Distance Split by 50 WR – 2018 Pro Swim – Indianapolis #2 all time – 2025 Pro Swim Series – Ft. Lauderdale Split by 50
50m 28.09 28.09 28.10 28.10
100m 30.41 58.50 58.56 30.46
150m 30.76 1:29.26 1:29.03 30.47
200m 30.99 2:00.25 2:00.06 31.03
250m 30.86 2:31.11 2:31.00 30.94
300m 31.39 3:02.50 3:02.27 31.27
350m 31.21 3:33.71 3:33.51 31.24
400m 31.17 4:04.88 4:04.75 31.24
450m 30.98 4:35.86 4:35.85 31.10
500m 30.96 5:06.82 5:07.33 31.48
550m 30.70 5:37.52 5:38.35 31.02
600m 30.77 6:08.29 6:09.24 30.89
650m 30.82 6:39.11 6:40.03 30.79
700m 30.68 7:09.79 7:10.89 30.86
750m 30.77 7:40.56 7:41.71 30.82
800m 30.85 8:11.41 8:12.76 31.05
850m 30.82 8:42.23 8:43.49 30.73
900m 30.82 9:13.05 9:14.26 30.77
950m 30.68 9:43.73 9:44.98 30.72
1000m 30.72 10:14.45 10:15.96 30.98
1050m 30.82 10:45.27 10:47.00 31.04
1100m 30.80 11:16.07 11:18.21 31.21
1150m 30.72 11:46.79 11:49.41 31.20
1200m 30.82 12:17.61 12:20.43 31.02
1250m 30.68 12:48.29 12:51.33 30.90
1300m 30.81 13:19.10 13:22.51 31.18
1350m 30.84 13:49.94 13:53.37 30.86
1400m 30.55 14:20.49 14:24.32 30.95
1450m 30.55 14:51.04 14:54.82 30.50
1500m 29.44 15:20.48 15:24.51 29.69

Ledecky’s personal best and World Record also hails from a Pro Swim Series stop – the Indianapolis version back in May 2018. She won there by 49 seconds, and was never challenged here either. Two of her fastest four times ever have come within the past 24 months now, and three of her eight under 15:30, as she looks to be gearing up for some big swims this summer in Singapore.

Ledecky has been dominant on the international stage ever since the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona, winning every World and Olympic title since other than in 2019, where she withdrew through illness, and Doha 2024. Her fastest winning time at a major summer competition was back in Kazan in 2015 where she swam the previous #2 time in history, but had not been back under 15:30 in a final until 2023. She was 15:26.27 that summer in Fukuoka, although went out faster and dropped off her record pace more in the second 500 there than she did today.

She first broke the 15:30 mark at the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships in 15:28.36, dropping eight seconds from her World Championships-winning time from the previous year. She has now been under 15:30 in six different seasons, over a period of 11 years. That is, she’s been at least nine seconds faster than the next-quickest woman in history at both age 17 and age 28, as well as multiple seasons in between.

Three of Ledecky’s fastest seven times have come at spring Pro Swim Series, in 2018, 2020 and now in 2025. Interestingly, they have come in three different locations – there is not a specific pool that she favours. In fact, only two of her top 10 swims have come in the same pool; #9 and #10, both done at Hungary’s Danube Arena, albeit five years apart.

Rank Time Meet Date
1 15:20.48 2018 Pro Series – Indianapolis 05/16/2018
2  15:24.51 2025 Pro Series – Ft. Lauderdale 04/30/2025
7 15:29.51 2020 Pro Series – Des Moines 03/04/2020

Ledecky is also entered in the 200-400-800 freestyles at this meet, and with her having split 2:00.06, 4:04.75 and 8:12.76 here, we will be in line for some fast swims over the next three days.

Splits Comparison Vs. World Record

World Record
Wedenesday’s #2
Delta
100m 58.5 58.56 0.06
200m 61.75 61.5 -0.25
300m 62.25 62.21 -0.04
400m 62.38 62.48 0.1
500m 61.94 62.58 0.64
600m 61.47 61.91 0.44
700m 61.84 61.65 -0.19
800m 61.57 61.87 0.3
900m 61.5 61.5 0
1000m 61.63 61.7 0.07
1100m 61.32 62.25 0.93
1200m 61.79 62.22 0.43
1300m 61.49 62.08 0.59
1400m 61.28 61.81 0.53
1500m 59.77 60.19 0.42

Cumulative Time Comparison vs. World Record

World Record
Wednesday’s #2
100m 58.5 58.56 0.06
200m 120.25 120.06 -0.19
300m 182.5 182.27 -0.23
400m 244.88 244.75 -0.13
500m 306.82 307.33 0.51
600m 368.29 369.24 0.95
700m 430.13 430.89 0.76
800m 491.7 492.76 1.06
900m 553.2 554.26 1.06
1000m 614.83 615.96 1.13
1100m 676.15 678.21 2.06
1200m 737.94 740.43 2.49
1300m 799.43 802.51 3.08
1400m 860.71 864.32 3.61
1500m 920.48 924.51 4.03

 

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Willy
13 minutes ago

Nicole Livingston commented during the Paris 1500m medal presentation that she swam the 8th fastest 1500m and she’s slowing down, I was in disbelief as to why would you say that. Sometimes i wonder if she only follows swimming at the Olympic games only because some of her comments are unbelievable. I hope she’s heard the news.

Swimswam follower
1 hour ago

To all the Nesty haters “Take That”

Super Soaker 50
3 hours ago

Sub 15 min. 1650 incoming…

Antipodean
4 hours ago

Every time people mutter that KL is on the way out, she comes right back at them with something phenomenal. This 1500 was amazing. I think the WR had the dynamite of youth behind it, but this one shows what careful, consistent work over many years can produce. Truly amazing!

Swimmer Dan
4 hours ago

Obviously almost all of the credit here goes to Katie for putting in the work for so long. It is also worth giving some credit to her coaches during her teen years that developed her such that she could still be this good at 28. One doesn’t have to look very hard to find a list of teenage phenoms, in a lot of different sports, who peaked too soon.

I think this mostly needs to be heard by parents and coaches who get overzealous and try to squeeze every ounce out at the first sign of success.

Samuel Huntington
Reply to  Swimmer Dan
4 hours ago

Yep. Yuri and Bruce are exceptional coaches.

2016
4 hours ago

Wow. Just wow. I know it’s been said before but she is the absolute pinnacle of longevity and consistency. I can’t even begin to image how she maintains this kind of dominance.

YGBSM
5 hours ago

GOAT

Comet16
5 hours ago

I can imagine Rowdy exclaiming in LA “Gosh I am going to miss this woman. I might actually have to talk about other swimmers in the events she used to swim in”

USA
Reply to  Comet16
2 hours ago

Well luckily Rowdy is retiring after LA