American distance star Katie Ledecky just made her NCAA Invitational debut for Stanford at the 2016 Ohio State Invite, and she did it in record-breaking fashion. Ledecky was well over 10 seconds faster than anyone else, racing to a 4:27.54 in prelims. That took down the previous mark of 4:30.37 set by Virginia’s Leah Smith, who was also a medalist at the Rio Olympics this summer, at the 2015 NCAA Championships. It was also within a second of her own American Record, which she set at 4:26.58 in 2015 at the D.C. Metro High School Championships.
Splits Comparison:
| Swimmer | 1st 100 | 2nd 100 | 3rd 100 | 4th 100 | 5th 100 |
| Katie Ledecky 2016 | 51.64 | 54.48 | 54.05 | 54.16 | 53.21 |
| Leah Smith 2015 | 51.35 | 54.38 | 55.03 | 55.32 | 54.29 |
Ledecky, who won 5 medals for Team USA at the 2016 Rio Olympics this summer, has been taking down Pool Records left and right since she started as a freshman with the Cardinal this fall. This isn’t the first NCAA Record she’s broken either. Last week, she shattered the record in the 1000 free, taking down Leah Smith‘s previous mark and breaking a 26-year-old Pool Record set by Janet Evans.
While Ledecky may have missed her American Record, this was only a prelims swim. That means we may see her lower the mark if she goes even faster in tonight’s final.
Wonder what she could do in lcm…
3:56 LCM converts to 4:22. She’s probably a bit better LCM than SCY but not by much. It’s possible to say she would have been 4:22-4:24 rested last year training with Bruce if she was fully rested. But, we will never know.
Where did this kid come from? I’ve never heard of her.
That ledecky sure is fast
My guess:
4:23.8 in finals. If I end up right tonight, 4:21 at NCAAs.
She was also one second away from qualifying for the MEN’s A-final tonight. She could probably win the B-final if they let her swim it.
Are there other results available?
What was the line to Queen Victoria after we won the first Americas Cup? “Ma’am, there was no 2d place”
http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/livestats/m-swim/
She doesn’t know how to not swim fast. It’s unnecessary to go 4.27 in prelims but she can’t do otherwise.
It’s only unnecessary for Bobo Gigi.
Why not? So she can save her self for the close race tonight? This way she gets 2 good swims in instead of just 1. All just training swims anyway.
You’re talking about the woman who “accidentally” broke the 1500 WR. Maybe its necessary for her.
KL probably thinks, “Was that a fast swim? Wasn’t much for me. Why everyone making a fuss out of a prelim swim???”
Every time she swims fast, she gets better and stronger. Why waste and opportunity to swim fast? It’s also a great lesson for younger swimmers: always go fast, no matter. Obviously, she could have gone 4:37-40 and make the final, why not just let loose? She’s not doing it so others can guess how much faster she’ll be at night. I think she’s doing it to see how far along she is. She SHOULD test the limits every time. She’s only young once.