2025 Pro Swim Series – Fort Lauderdale
- Wednesday, April 30 – Saturday, May 3, 2025
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center
- LCM (50 meters)
- Meet Central
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
- Live Recaps
On the final night of the 2025 Pro Swim Series, 28-year-old Katie Ledecky—widely regarded as both the greatest freestyler in history and the greatest female swimmer of all time—saved her best swim of the week for last, breaking her own 800 freestyle world record. She lowered the mark from 8:04.79, set at the Rio Olympics in 2016 when she was 19, to an astonishing 8:04.12.
This is Ledecky’s 16th career individual world record, and her first since nearly seven years ago—May 16, 2018, when she set the current 1500 free standard (15:20.48) at the Pro Swim Series meet in Indianapolis.
Ledecky’s improvement came primarily from both the first and final 50s. She opened the race with a blistering 27.59 over the first lap—nearly half a second faster than her previous record swim—and by the 150 mark, she was already more than a second ahead of her old pace. Through the middle of the race, Ledecky slightly fell off her previous splits, particularly between the 200 and 400 marks, where she logged slightly slower splits. However, she began to build significant momentum again after the 500 turn, with the crowd really starting to get engaged.
Her biggest margin of improvement came over the final 50, where she blasted a 28.46—more than half a second faster than the 28.99 she recorded to close her former record.
Ledecky’s 400 splits tonight were 4:01.78 and 4:02.34, compared to her previous world record halves of 4:01.98 and 4:02.81.
Fun fact: Ledecky’s final 400 split tonight of 4:02.34 would place her as the 19th-fastest performer of all time in the individual 400 free. She ranks 3rd all-time in the event with her 3:56.46 clocking from the Rio Games.
Additionally, Ledecky’s first 200 (1:58.38) and last 200 (1:59.85) add up to 3:58.22, which would situate her 4th all-time in the individual 400, behind only herself, Ariarne Titmus, and Summer McIntosh. That time is nearly three seconds faster than her bronze-medal swim in the individual event at the Paris Olympics, and she’s only been faster than that time in the individual event on three occasions.
See a full splits comparison between her new and old records below.
Splits Comparison:
| New World Record | Former World Record | |
| 50m | 27.59 | 28.03 |
| 100m | 29.98 (57.57) | 29.95 (57.98) |
| 150m | 30.01 (1:27.58) | 30.73 (1:28.71) |
| 200m | 30.80 (1:58.38) | 30.71 (1:59.42) |
| 250m | 30.67 (2:29.05) | 30.64 (2:30.06) |
| 300m | 31.03 (3:00.08) | 30.70 (3:00.76) |
| 350m | 30.70 (3:30.78) | 30.37 (3:31.13) |
| 400m | 31.00 (4:01.78) | 30.85 (4:01.98) |
| 450m | 30.47 (4:32.25) | 30.22 (4:32.20) |
| 500m | 30.74 (5:02.99) | 30.74 (5:02.94) |
| 550m | 30.50 (5:33.49) | 30.60 (5:33.54) |
| 600m | 30.78 (6:04.27) | 30.76 (6:04.30) |
| 650m | 30.43 (6:34.70) | 30.77 (6:35.07) |
| 700m | 30.67 (7:05.37) | 30.37 (7:05.44) |
| 750m | 30.29 (7:35.66) | 30.36 (7:35.80) |
| 800m | 28.46 (8:04.12) | 28.99 (8:04.79) |
Ledecky bumps McIntosh—the second-fastest performer of all time—out of the top ten performances in history and now owns 23 of the 25 fastest 800 swims ever recorded.
All-Time Top Performances, Women’s 800 LCM Freestyle:
- Katie Ledecky — 8:04.12 (2025)
- Katie Ledecky — 8:04.79 (2016)
- Katie Ledecky — 8:06.68 (2016)
- Katie Ledecky –8:07.07 (2023)
- Katie Ledecky — 8:07.27 (2018)
- Katie Ledecky — 8:07.39 (2015)
- Katie Ledecky — 8:08.04 (2022)
- Katie Ledecky — 8:08.87 (2023)
- Katie Ledecky — 8:09.13 (2018)
- Katie Ledecky — 8:09.27 (2022)
- Summer McIntosh — 8:09.86 (2025)
- Katie Ledecky — 8:10.32 (2016)
- Katie Ledecky — 8:10.70 (2019)
- Katie Ledecky — 8:10.91 (2016)
- Katie Ledecky — 8:11.00 (2014)
- Katie Ledecky — 8:11.04 (2024)
- Katie Ledecky — 8:11.08 (2018)
- Katie Ledecky — 8:11.21 (2015)
- Katie Ledecky — 8:11.35 (2014)
- Summer McIntosh — 8:11.39 (2024)
- Katie Ledecky — 8:11.50 (2017)
- Katie Ledecky — 8:11.70 (2018)
- Katie Ledecky — 8:11.83 (2022)
- Katie Ledecky — 8:11.98 (2018)
- Katie Ledecky — 8:12.03 (2022)
“I can’t stop smiling, it’s been like that all week though, so it’s not really new. It’s been so many years in the making to do it tonight. It’s been an incredible night. There is always a story to each world record that I set. I think tonight is the first one I’ve done when another American has done it. Hats off to Gretchen (Walsh) for getting us rolling this morning and starting a world record party. The crowd was amazing tonight; I couldn’t have done it without that. I flipped at the 750, and it was loud in here, and I just told myself I’m not letting this opportunity go to waste and started sprinting,” Ledecky told USA Swimming.
Ledecky, a nine-time Olympic gold medalist and the four-time defending Olympic champion in the 800 free, has also won the world title in the event six times, spanning from 2013 to 2023. She sat out the 2024 Worlds due to their proximity to the Paris Games.
Ledecky’s career has seen a massive resurgence since she left Stanford in the fall of 2021 to train with Anthony Nesty at the University of Florida. In a five-year span starting from after she set the 800 free World Record in 2016 to the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, she only broke the 8:10 barrier twice in the event. However, after moving to Florida, she has broken 8:10 a total of five times.
Her performance this week marks a remarkable return to top form—undoubtedly her best meet since the Rio.
Earlier in the competition, Ledecky logged her second-fastest times ever in both the 400 free (3:56.81) and the 1500 free (15:24.51). After a dominant, solo swim in the 1500, the 400 was a masterclass in race strategy, paced perfectly with McIntosh effectively acting as the rabbit.
Race Video:
Courtesy: USA Swimming
How many women have ever had a faster last 50 of a 200 free than 28.46? The only ones I can think of off the top of my head are Titmus, O’Callaghan, and Tang Muhan. Probably Pellegrini? That’s an insane final 50 of an 200, and Ledecky just did it at the end of an 800🤯
She is so fantastic.
One thing that annoys me in the comments is the ‘goat’ story.
Imagine one hypothetical and quite impossible thing.
A swimmer during four olympic games wins individual golds in every event except 50’s.
There will always be someone to say she (or he) is the absolute goat but isn’t competitive in 50 strokes !
It doesn’t really matter actually and terribly frustrating for everybody.
Appreciate our swimmers for what they achieved or achieving.
To think, the last time Katie Ledecky was pushed to a World Record in either the W 800 FR or W 1500 FR was by Lotte Friis at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships.
To break a World Record in a distance event with no one even in sight has to be extremely difficult.
Taking a trip down memory lane, Katie’s gutsiest performance in the W 800 FR:
https://youtu.be/N0G35qnOsNA?si=0y-EaY4SQkx37NSY
Katie Ledecky’s 400 meter split is faster than Paige Madden’s personal best time in the W 400 FR.
I still can’t decide which is the least expected W 800 FR World Record. The 2016 Arena Pro Swim Series – Austin, TX is the other that comes to mind. Nobody breaks World Records in January especially north of the equator.
Katie Ledecky definitely has a shot at three individual gold medals at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships.
As for the W 4 x 200 FR-R, it’s up to the likes of Gemmell and Sims to start picking up the slack. Katie Ledecky has carried the W 4 x 200 FR-R since the 2014 Pan Pacs (1:54.36 relay split).
Best race comment I’ve seen in my life. I already knew the result when I first watched the race and still cried at the end.
Watch this before your every race, reimagine it in every last 15m.
Never forget.