Ledecky posts second-fastest 1500m free time ever in Pro Swim win / Photo: Alex Slitz - GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
-
New No.1 Rybakina out to thwart Sabalenka US Open three-peat bid
-
Dance Fitness Tempe Announces Expansion of Accessible Digital Movement Programs
-
US marks 25th anniversary of 9/11 attacks
-
Nashville airport to be renamed after Dolly Parton
-
'That's why we fight': Trump links 9/11 to Iran conflict
-
Argentina's Dirty War rears its head in Venice film
-
Europe saw record summer air traffic despite Mideast war: Eurocontrol
-
'Whatever we do is political' says Iranian director Asgari at Venice
-
De Zerbi coy over unsettled Richarlison's Spurs future
-
UK lawmakers throw out bill to legalise assisted dying
-
Brazil president candidate Flavio Bolsonaro targeted in corruption probe
-
Relatives of 9/11 victims hit out at Saudi Arabia -- and US leaders
-
England dismiss Pakistan's Masood to close on victory in 3rd Test
-
Egyptian teenager Abdelkarim to extend Barca deal to 2030
-
Oil prices, US inflation stoke Fed hike worries
-
Macau to hold closed-door trial in first national security case
-
Free-scoring Chelsea must tighten up, says Alonso
-
Philippines recovers 30 bodies from ferry after blaze
-
US inflation steady in August, fueling Fed rate hike expectations
-
Relative of 9/11 victim unleashes searing attack on Saudi Arabia
-
United boss Carrick dismisses Anderson's 'kings of Manchester' jibe
-
Russell edges Antonelli in accident-free opening practice in Madrid
-
New York marks 25th anniversary of 9/11 attacks
-
Sweden's outgoing PM wants to 'make Sweden great again'
-
Yemen's Houthis take over strait vital to global shipping
-
Fenced off: Thailand builds border wall after Cambodia clashes
-
Russia rolls out long-delayed 5G, but not for iPhones
-
Pakistan's Masood frustrates England's victory push in 3rd Test
-
DR Congo Ebola outbreak spreads to 7th province
-
Revitalised Isak in a 'good place' at Liverpool: Iraola
-
Turning up the heat: Arteta reveals 'challenges' for Arsenal stars
-
Arsenal boss Arteta 'very surprised' at Jesus blast over Barcelona move
-
F2 crash in Madrid underlines fears over 'riskiest track'
-
Czech antitrust office lets Turkey's Pegasus Airlines buy Smartwings
-
Nepal flood reconstruction bill to be $4.78 bn: foreign ministry
-
Maresca says spotlight not on him ahead of Manchester derby
-
Investors on edge as energy costs, surging bond yields roil markets
-
Philippine Coast Guard finds bodies aboard ferry after blaze
-
JUMO and Standard Bank launch Social Finance Framework to scale inclusive finance in Africa
-
UK lawmakers to vote again on failed assisted dying bill
-
Doomsday tech: could AI really kill us all?
-
India welcomes Russia, Iran leaders for BRICS summit overshadowed by war
-
Yemen's Houthis complete takeover of Bab al-Mandab area: govt official to AFP
-
Italian feminist fighter Emma Bonino dies
-
Toronto film festival kicks off with ode to political activism
-
White blazers, pink ties as North Koreans land in Japan for Asian Games
-
French comedy show 'Call my agent' makes film comeback
-
Stocks tumble as oil and inflation worries fan rate hike bets
-
Indonesia seeks to bring back baby orangutans allegedly trafficked to India
-
Tiny Elversberg 'leave Earth's orbit' as Bayern come to town
Ledecky posts second-fastest 1500m free time ever in Pro Swim win
Nine-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky clocked the second-fastest women's 1500m freestyle time in history on Wednesday to launch the US Pro Swim Series event in Austin, Texas, with a dominant victory.
Ledecky was untouchable as she cruised to victory in 15min 23.21sec, more than a minute in front of 16-year-old runner-up Brinkleigh Hansen, who touched in 16:31.31.
Becca Mann was third in 16:35.09.
Ledecky didn't threaten her world record of 15:20.48, set in 2018, but she used a strong late surge to improve on the second-best ever time of 15:24.51 that she had set at the Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, last April.
Since then she has gone on to win her sixth world title in the event at last year's world championships in Singapore.
She has won both Olympic gold medals -- at Tokyo in 2021 and Paris 2024 -- since the 1500m free was made an Olympic event for women.
Now 28, the American who won her first Olympic gold in the 800m freestyle at the 2012 London Games is showing no signs of fading as the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics beckon.
Ledecky, the only woman to beak 15:30 for the 1500m free, did so for the 10th time.
She owns the top 12 times ever and 24 of the top 25, with Italian Simon Quadrella's runner-up finish to Ledecky in 15:31.79 at last year's world championships now slotting in as the 13th-fastest ever.
Men's world record-holder Bobby Finke, Ledecky's training partner in Florida, won the men's 1500m free in 15:01.70. Ireland's Daniel Wiffen, the reigning 800m Olympic champion, was second in 15:04.98.
Olympic stars Summer McIntosh and Leon Marchand led the way into Thursday's finals of the 200m individual medley, in which they are both world record-holders.
Canada's McIntosh, winner of three gold medals at the Paris Games and four world titles in Singapore last year, touched in 2:09.27 to top the semi-final times ahead of Teagan O'Dell (2:13.15). Emma Weyant was third fastest, winning her semi in 2:14.74.
France's Marchand, who won four golds in Paris, topped the men's 200m medley semi-finals in 2:00.10 ahead of Kieran Smith in 2:00.19 and Carson Foster in 2:00.24.
World record-holder Regan Smith of the United States won the women's 100m backstroke in 57.98sec, and reigning world campion Anna Elendt of Germany won the women's 100m breaststroke in 1:06.91.
M.A.Colin--AMWN
