Leah Smith On Falling Flat on Her Face and Then Getting Back Up

WOMEN’S 800 METER FREESTYLE – FASTEST HEAT

• World Record: 8:04.79 – Katie Ledecky (2016)
• American Record: 8:04.79 – Katie Ledecky (2016)
• U.S. Open Record: 8:06.68 – Katie Ledecky (2016)
• Jr World Record: 8:11.00 – Katie Ledecky (2014)
• FINA “A” Cut: 8:37.90
• SwimSwam Preview – W800 Free

Podium:

1. Katie Ledecky, Unattached – 8:09.27
2. Leah Smith, Longhorn Aquatics – 8:17.52
3. Bella Sims, Sandpipers – 8:22.36
4. Katie Grimes, Sandpipers – 8:22.73
5. Claire Weinstein, Sandpipers – 8:29.34
6. Jillian Cox, Longhorn Aquatics – 8:33.83
7. Michaela Mattes, Sarasota Sharks – 8:35.58
8. Tylor Mathieu, Florida – 8:36.85

Katie Ledecky went her best time since 2018 with a dominant 8:09.27 to post the world’s top time for the year in the women’s 800 free. She was already up by a body length at the 100 wall and continued to put a couple of meters of clear water behind her and the rest of the field with every 50.

The race for second place was nowhere near as close as anticipated. Katie Grimes and Bella Sims were running second and third behind Ledecky over the first 100 meters but Leah Smith surged to the front on the third wall. She finished four bodies ahead of Sims, 8:17.52 to 8:22.36, for second place.

16-year-old Jillian Cox of Longhorn Aquatics dropped 8.3 seconds from her PB to win the earlier heats of 800 free with 8:33.83, the 23rd-fastest time ever in the 15-16 age group. Michaela Mattes, 17, of Sarasota Sharks improved on her best time, swum in March, to place second with 8:35.88. University of Florida’s Tylor Mathieu was third this afternoon, clocking in at 8:36.85. All three swimmers made the top-8 overall, finishing with faster times than TAC Titans’ Caroline Pennington.

The top eight swimmers all made the FINA “A” cut.