Roadmaps 2.0 – Mapping International Swim Stars: Women’s 800 Free

In our new series, Roadmaps – Mapping the Journey of US Swimming Stars, we will explore how modern-day Olympians climbed their way to the top, starting from as early as 8 years old all the way to their elite level today. In Roadmaps 2.0, we are expanding to international swim stars.

At the 1989 Pan Pacific Championships, 17-year-old Janet Evans reset her own 800-meter free world record for the third time in her career, posting an 8:16.22. That record stood for 19 years until 19-year-old Brit Rebecca Adlington destroyed Evans’ mark at the 2008 Olympics (8:14.10). Five years later at the 2013 World Championships, 16-year-old American Katie Ledecky snatched the world record from Adlington at 8:13.86. Since then, Ledecky has broken her own 800 free world record four times, topping it with her current 8:04.79 mark from the 2016 Olympics.

In 2020, no other woman, except Ledecky, has swum under Adlington’s 8:14.10 mark from 2008. However, Ledecky and Adlington were both 19 years old when they hit their (current) lifetime bests. In this Olympic cycle, there are four women under 19, Hungarian Ajna Kesely, Aussie Ariarne Titmus, and Chinese Bingjie Li and Jianjiahe Wang, that could shave down those marks in the next year. Joining them in this battle include 2019 World runner-up Simona Quadarella, multi-time World medalist Leah Smith, and German veteran Sarah Kohler.

2016-2021 Olympic Cycle: International Women’s 800 FR LCM

Rank Swimmer Country Time Meet
1 Katie Ledecky USA 8:07.27 2018 Pro Swim Series – Indy
2 Jianjiahe Wang CHN 8:14.64 2019 Chinese Nationals
3 Simona Quadarella ITA 8:14.99 2019 World Championships
4 Bingjie Li CHN 8:15.46 2017 World Championships
5 Ariarne Titmus AUS 8:15.70 2019 World Championships
6 Leah Smith USA 8:16.33 2019 Pro Swim Series – Richmond
7 Sarah Kohler GER 8:16.43 2019 World Championships
8 Ajna Kesely HUN 8:22.01 2018 European Championships

Age Group: When Did They Catch Evans?

400 Free

Three US women in the 13-14 age group have swum under 4:10 in the 400-meter free, including Katie Ledecky. Ajna Kesely was 4:08.10 at the same age, which would have been No. 2 on the all-time US age group rankings. However, Bingjie Li easily could have taken down Sippy Woodhead‘s 1978 NAG (4:07.15) with her 4:06.08 age group best. Her time as a 14-year-old would have also ranked third all-time in the 15-16 age group.

Once Li was 16 years old, she reached 4:01.75 in the 400 free, which is only second behind Ledecky’s 3:59.82 US 15-16 NAG. When Janet Evans was 16, she hit 4:05.45, which is the 2nd-fastest 15-16 swim in history. Jianjiahe Wang, Ariarne Titmus, and Kesely were more than a second under Evans’ mark at that same age.

800 Free

Ajna Kesely was a distance sensation from a young age, as previously seen in her 400 free age group times. At 12 years old, Kesely was already under 9 minutes in the 800-meter free. Bingjie Li and Katie Ledecky caught up to Kesely’s pace in the 13-14 age group, already hitting 8:30 in the event. Ariarne Titmus, Simona Quadarella, and Kesely broke 8:30 once they were in the 15-16 age group. In the same group, however, Jianjiahe Wang (8:18.55), Li (8:15.64) and Ledecky (8:13.86) had broken 8:20 in the event.

At 17, Ledecky became the first woman to break 8:10 in the 800 free. Since then, no one else has touched the 8:10 barrier. At the 2019 Chinese Nationals, 17-year-old Wang dropped down to 8:14.64, the second-fastest swim by an 18&U female. Titmus’ age 18 best of 8:15.70 is the 4th-fastest 18&U time in history behind Li. Kesely’s current lifetime best is 8:22.01, which is off her rapid progression pace in the 800 free. However, Kesely is the current Hungarian 400 free national record holder. Leah Smith and Sarah Kohler, on a different note, did not hit the competitive 8:20 barrier until their early 20s.

*More will be discussed about the women’s 400 free in its own Roadmaps installment.

Women’s 400 FR LCM: Age Group Progression

Name 13-14 15-16 17-18 19-22
Katie Ledecky 4:09.30 3:59.82 3:58.37 3:56.46
Ariarne Titmus 4:13.53 4:04.26 3:58.76
Leah Smith 4:24.24 4:09.55 4:07.10 4:00.65
Ajna Kesely 4:08.10 4:03.57 4:01.31
Bingjie Li 4:06.08 4:01.75 4:03.29
Jianjiahe Wang 4:03.18 4:04.42
Simona Quadarella 4:20.88 4:14.33 4:08.16 4:03.35
Sarah Kohler 4:17.48 4:15.49 4:10.94 4:06.72

 

Women’s 800 FR LCM: Milestone Ages

Name 8:59 8:20
Katie Ledecky 13 15
Bingjie Li 13 15
Jianjiahe Wang 15 16
Ariarne Titmus 14 17
Simona Quadarella 13 18
Leah Smith 15 21
Sarah Kohler 14 22
Ajna Kesely 12

Olympic Future: Who’s Got the Tokyo Factor?

At the 2016 Olympics, four women swam under the 8:20 mark, including the sub-8:17 top three. Yet at the 2019 World Championships, six women swam under 8:20, with the entire top three swimming under Evans’ 1989 world record. With the Tokyo 2021 slowing counting down, there are now seven women who have been under 8:20 this Olympic cycle, setting up one of the fastest Olympic 800 free finals yet. With this in mind, let’s take a look at the current top eight candidates who could partake in the 2021 final.

The Veterans

Katie Ledecky has not touched her 8:04.79 world record since 2016. However, she has also owned the 800 free since 2012, picking up 2 Pan Pacific titles, 4 World titles, and 2 Olympic titles in the event alone. At this point, the 2021 title is Ledecky’s to lose. But that changed at the 2019 Worlds final when Simona Quadarella valiantly took a jab at the 800 free queen.

Before the 2019 World final, Quadarella stacked up 5 international medals in the 800 free, including the 2018 European title. However, at 20 years old, she had yet to break the 8:20 mark. Quadarella qualified 4th into the 2019 World final after preliminaries, putting herself in heavy contention for a medal. But this final came after her historic 1500 free gold. Off the start in the final, Quadarella exploded ahead of Katie Ledecky. In the end, Quadarella did not defeat Ledecky, but picked up a valiant World silver medal. Her time of 8:14.99 is now No. 2 in European history and No. 4 in world history.

Sarah Kohler has yet to earn an international medal in the 800 free. While she took 1500 free silver from 2019 Worlds, she was also part of the competitive 800 free final. Kohler maintained a third-place lead for the majority of the race until Ariarne Titmus caught her at the last turn. From there, it was a dogfight for the bronze medal. By the last 15 meters, Titmus already had established herself for bronze. Nonetheless, it was a stellar fourth-place finish for Kohler after placing 8th in the 2016 Olympic final. She also dropped 4 seconds from her lifetime best, punching in 8:16.43.

In that same final, Leah Smith was also fighting for another World medal to her collection, yet finished in fifth behind Kohler. Smith finished with an 8:17.10, which was just off her lifetime best. Smith would have had to swim a near-lifetime best in order to get a medal. Despite this, Smith’s numerous relay medals for Team USA show time again that she is a racer.

The Teens

As previously mentioned, there are four teenagers in this group that are nearing Katie Ledecky and the 8:10 barrier. Among them is Aussie Ariarne Titmus, who picked up bronze in the 800 free at 2019 Worlds after defeating Ledecky in the 400 free. Titmus’ only international 800 free win came from the 2018 Commonwealth Games, which was followed up with her 2018 Pan Pacs event silver. China’s Bingjie Li, on the other hand, has an 800 free World silver to her name, which she earned at the 2017 World Championships at 15 years old. However, Li has not touched her 8;15.46 lifetime best since 2017 Worlds.

Li’s fellow country-mate, Jianjiahe Wang, immediately took over Li’s place in the distance events for China. At the 2018 Asian Games, Wang swept the 400-1500 free, following that up with a short course World title a few months later. At 2019 World 800 free final, Wang kept up with the pack, yet faded to sixth place. Earlier in the meet, however, Wang had earned bronze in the 1500 free final.

Ajna Kesely was another teen who found more success outside of the 800 free. While Kesely just missed medaling in the 400 free at 2019 Worlds, her time of 4:01.31 was good enough to break the Hungarian record. As for the 800 free, Kesely placed 10th in prelims at 8:32.34, missing out of the final. Kesely’s current personal best of 8:22.01 comes from the 2018 European Championships, where she took silver behind Quadarella.

Women’s 800 FR LCM Lifetime Bests

Name Time Age
Katie Ledecky 8:04.79 19
Jianjiahe Wang 8:14.64 17
Simona Quadarella 8:14.99 20
Bingjie Li 8:15.46 15
Ariarne Titmus 8:15.70 18
Leah Smith 8:16.33 23
Sarah Kohler 8:16.43 25
Ajna Kesely 8:22.01 16

 

Single Age Progression: International Women’s 800 FR LCM (Ages 11-25)

Name Country 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Katie Ledecky USA 10:20.68 9:58.38 8:58.86 8:30.14 8:14.63 8:13.86 8:11.00 8:06.68 8:04.79 8:11.50 8:07.27 8:10.70
Jianjiahe Wang CHN 8:22.70 8:18.55 8:14.64
Simona Quadarella ITA 9:16.15 8:57.58 9:03.65 8:35.39 8:29.79 8:28.05 8:20.54 8:16.45 8:14.99
Bingjie Li CHN 8:30.09 8:28.12 8:15.46 8:28.14 8:27.96
Ariarne Titmus AUS 9:15.64 8:45.67 8:37.50 8:23.08 8:17.07 8:15.70
Leah Smith USA 8:47.68 8:34.11 8:28.01 8:34.34 8:30.86 8:24.74 8:20.18 8:17.22 8:16.33 8:17.10
Sarah Kohler GER 10:08.05 9:37.29 9:05.19 8:49.68 8:43.08 8:41.97 8:34.28 8:32.80 8:31.55 8:28.23 8:22.80 8:20.53 8:21.67 8:23.63 8:16.43
Ajna Kesely HUN 9:03.49 8:52.17 8:44.72 8:34.37 8:30.62 8:22.01 8:24.25

___________________________________________________________________

2016-2021 Olympic Cycle: US Women’s 800 FR LCM

Rank Swimmer World Rank Time Meet
1 Katie Ledecky 1 8:07.27 2018 Pro Swim Series – Indy
2 Leah Smith 6 8:16.33 2019 Pro Swim Series – Richmond
3 Haley Anderson 14 8:24.13 2018 Summer US Nationals
4 Ally McHugh 15 8:24.22 2018 Summer US Nationals
5 Erica Sullivan 23 8:26.13 2019 World Cup – Jinan
6 Sierra Schmidt 25 8:27.13 2019 Summer US Nationals
7 Ashley Twichell 27 8:27.36 2019 Summer US Nationals
8 Hannah Moore 28 8:27.58 2017 Summer US Nationals

 

Single Age Progression: US Women’s 800 FR LCM (Ages 11-28)

Name 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Katie Ledecky 10:20.68 9:58.38 8:58.86 8:30.14 8:14.63 8:13.86 8:11.00 8:06.68 8:04.79 8:11.50 8:07.27 8:10.70
Leah Smith 8:47.68 8:34.11 8:28.01 8:34.34 8:30.86 8:24.74 8:20.18 8:17.22 8:16.33 8:17.10
Haley Anderson 10:43.14 9:51.52 9:26.97 9:17.48 8:51.72 8:41.57 8:31.66 8:32.80 8:27.11 8:26.60 8:29.71 8:30.87 8:35.19 8:29.32 8:24.13 8:27.63 8:37.00
Ally McHugh 9:24.71 9:24.12 8:35.01 8:24.22 8:26.04
Erica Sullivan 10:04.30 9:33.34 9:00.37 8:44.63 8:37.92 8:33.49 8:26.98 8:26.13 8:26.60
Sierra Schmidt 9:15.47 8:49.77 8:40.78 8:34.58 8:27.54 8:30.82 8:42.54 8:36.48 8:27.13
Ashley Twichell 9:11.20 9:02.79 8:53.16 8:53.14 8:51.78 8:35.10 8:34.56 8:39.45 8:34.06 8:30.45 8:25.31 8:29.35
Hannah Moore 9:52.89 9:29.65 9:04.20 8:57.21 8:48.37 8:42.16 8:41.64 8:28.23 8:27.58 8:36.87 8:33.46

Single Age Progression: US Women’s 1000 FR SCY (Ages 11-22)

Name 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Katie Ledecky 10:55.03 10:20.28 9:44.06 9:29.81 9:22.35 9:14.22 9:11.31 8:59.65 9:06.90 9:11.68
Leah Smith 11:26.58 9:55.99 9:48.08 9:47.39 9:32.56 9:20.15 9:21.54
Haley Anderson 10:59.20 10:42.19 10:18.09 10:00.80 9:57.24 9:49.56 9:44.46 9:40.26 9:41.32 9:52.98 10:00.69
Ally McHugh 10:53.38 10:35.68 10:24.64 10:35.78 9:42.52 9:40.12
Erica Sullivan 12:55.90 11:05.27 10:24.25 10:03.28 9:48.34 9:29.91 9:27.89 9:17.32 9:52.32
Sierra Schmidt 10:07.48 9:43.44 9:47.96 9:33.99 9:35.06 9:44.97 9:56.77 9:36.90
Ashley Twichell 10:14.77 10:04.87 9:57.44 9:37.48 9:52.76 9:32.52
Hannah Moore 11:34.81 10:55.24 10:29.11 10:09.87 10:03.34 9:54.45 9:42.56 9:43.98 9:43.79 9:35.51 9:37.44 9:40.82

More from Roadmaps 2.0:

More from U.S. Roadmaps:

In This Story

19
Leave a Reply

Subscribe
Notify of

19 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Sam
3 years ago

Boglarka was up there in Rio with 8:16. She left the distance scene because of Ledecky – the gap was just too surreal – and she wants to win like she did at the Worlds in the 200 butterfly (my guess)

Yozhik
Reply to  Sam
3 years ago

There was a strong intention to catch Ledecky. At least that is what she said in her statement immediately after Rio. The plan was to drop 2sec from personal best each year during new Olympic cycle.
Well ……

Sam
Reply to  Yozhik
3 years ago

yes she said she wants to be fastest, why else would she do it. Ledecky must have something special (her heart?) that she’s so far out, she swims distance like others swim the 200.

Smith-King-Dahlia-Manuel
Reply to  Sam
3 years ago

What drives Katie Ledecky? Failure to qualify for the women’s 400m freestyle at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials?

Dee
Reply to  Sam
3 years ago

Her lung capacity must be absolutely huge. I’d love to know what it is. But, also, she doesn’t swim swim like other female middle distance swimmers. I once commented here that, in the water, she looks like a man with women. I think people misunderstood what I meant and jumped on it. Yuri has said publicly he didn’t like the way she swam when she was young, she swam like a traditional distance lady and he didn’t like it, so he trained her to swim more like a male – a constant leg kick and a galloping stroke. Interestingly, the previous 800fr WR holder Adlington was known for her ability to keep a 6-beat kick up from start to finish.

Smith-King-Dahlia-Manuel
Reply to  Yozhik
3 years ago

That’s because Hungary hosted the 2017 FINA World Aquatics Championships.

Boknows34
Reply to  Sam
3 years ago

Kapas didn’t want to be the Laszlo Cseh of Hungarian women’s swimming, going head-to-head with the GOAT, but still a great and versatile enough swimmer to win other events and titles. (World and European).

Brownish
Reply to  Boknows34
3 years ago

Laszlo found the GOAT everywhere nearly in every stroke and distance. (Presently he has the best possibility in 200IM for Tokyo because of Szabo and Milak in 100 fly or Milak and Kenderesi in 200.) Kapas can easily get into the Hungarian team for Tokyo in 400-1500 freestyle and she will swim at least one of them. The 200 fly won’t be so easy because of Hosszu, Jakabos and Szilagyi. We’ll see.

GA Boy
3 years ago

Such a one person race, it would be unbelievably boring to race that way.

Smith-King-Dahlia-Manuel
3 years ago

No one has swum under Ledecky’s mark of 8:14.63 since the 2012 London Olympics except for Ledecky.

Coach Mike 1952
Reply to  Smith-King-Dahlia-Manuel
3 years ago

Further, no one has been under 8:14 EVER except Katie L.

Smith-King-Dahlia-Manuel
Reply to  Coach Mike 1952
3 years ago

USA Swimming (www.usaswimming.org)
Times
The Data Hub & General Information
U.S. and World Lists
All Time Top Performances
Gender: Women
Course: LCM
Event: 800 FR Women’s
Show Details

What’s Adlington still doing in the top 25? Come on Katie, you’re slacking.

Dee
3 years ago

Everybody seems to have missed the most incredible swim. Ajna Kesely 9.03 aged 11. That’s faster than any British 11 year old has swum, male or female. Also faster than any 11yo American I can find, male or female, since 2000.

Joe
Reply to  Dee
3 years ago

Some time ago there was a young lad in my county, he went 16:58.99 at Nationals in the 1500 just after his 12th birthday. I’ll remember that time for the rest of my days.

Think he was 17 low a little before that (so when he was still 11).

Dee
Reply to  Joe
3 years ago

Did he ever swim much faster? The most dominant domestic junior swimmer I can remember in the UK was a distance boy too. He went 15.40s when he was 13. Retired with a PB in the 15.30s set when he was 14. He still holds a plethora of National age group marks free, fly and IM, many of said marks were still his PBs when he retired.

Awsi Dooger
Reply to  Dee
3 years ago

I didn’t miss it. I was staring at that number and nothing else. Ignoring subjectivity and merely looking at numbers by age, the two who seem possible for greatest breakthrough in 2021 are Li and Kesely. Both flattened out in mid teens but that doesn’t mean they aren’t eligible to restore prior trajectory. The Chinese are always hard to figure. Kesely may be a case of prioritizing the 400 while taking away from 800 improvement. She really should have had the bronze in that 2019 world championships 400 other than a lazy Lochte-type final touch while Leah Smith attacked the final stroke like Phelps.

swimnerd
3 years ago

it would be a dream to see the eight minute barrier get broken

Dbswims
3 years ago

Why is ledecky at 11 still faster than what I can do in an 800

James
Reply to  Dbswims
3 years ago

Her drop from 12 to 13 is wild. Basically from fast kid to elite in a season.

About Nick Pecoraro

Nick Pecoraro

Nick has had the passion for swimming since his first dive in the water in middle school, immediately falling for breaststroke. Nick had expanded to IM events in his late teens, helping foster a short, but memorable NCAA Div III swim experience at Calvin University. While working on his B.A. …

Read More »