By Sean Griffin on SwimSwam
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 Prelims: Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 Finals: Day 1 (Timed Finals) | Day 2 | Day 3On 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 in 2016 when she was 19, to an astonishing 8:04.12.
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 rank 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 performance from the Rio Olympics.
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 (7:40.18)Ledecky bumps Summer 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)Ledecky, a nine-time Olympic gold medalist and the four-time defending Olympic champion in the 800 freestyle, 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 2016 Olympics.
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.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Katie Ledecky Throws Down 8:04.12 WORLD RECORD In The 800 Freestyle
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Katie Ledecky Throws Down 8:04.12 WORLD RECORD In The 800 Freestyle )
Also on site :