Katie Ledecky sets world record for 1,500 meters freestyle

During her first competitive event of the season at the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) Swimming World Cup, American swimmer Katie Ledecky is having a great time and is enjoying herself immensely. During Saturday night's competition at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, Ledecky set a world record for the 1,500 metre freestyle.

Although she doesn't compete in short events very often, the 10-year Olympic medallist finished the race in 15:08.24, 10 seconds quicker than the previous record set by German swimmer Sarah Wellbrock last year. Despite losing the 400 free on Friday, Ledecky completed the Canadian sweep by winning the Canadian Summer McIntosh 400 relay in 4:21.49.

Pickrem finished second in 4:28.45, and Edison finished third in 4:29.36. Earlier in 2012, Shiwen Ye set McIntosh's previous world junior record from Toronto. Maggie McNeil of Canada broke her national record by taking first place in the 50m butterfly in 24.75 seconds. American Beata Nelson won the women's 100m backstrokes, and American Shane Casas won the men's 200m. Everyone was glad to be present to witness the feat.




Ledecky believed her performance to be good due to her practise sessions. When she finished, the near-capacity crowd erupted in one of the loudest roars of the evening. After looking up at the scoreboard, Ledecky splashed the water. Although it was a believable feat, she couldn't believe she had achieved it. Ledecky bagged the gold before the Canada and Brazil finalists, who bagged the second and third positions in the event.

FAQs:

1. How much faster did Ledecky swim?
   Ledecky swam 10 seconds faster than German swimmer Sarah Wellbrock.
2. What did Ledecky do after winning?
   After seeing her record time, she was so happy that she started splashing the water.