Ledecky gets third title in 1500-meter freestyle

INDIANAPOLIS - Agence France-Presse

Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky claimed her third title on June 29 at the U.S. Swimming Championships with a dominant victory in the 1500-meter freestyle.

On the final night of competition, the 16-year-old flirted with the world record through the first half of the women’s 1500-meter free before finishing with a world-leading time of 15min 47.15 sec.

Throughout the race, it was Ledecky against the clock. Chloe Sutton was the runner-up in 16:07.75. “I just wanted to do my own thing and see how fast I could go,” Ledecky said of her approach to the event, which isn’t raced by women at the Olympics. “I blanked out pretty badly on that swim.

“I don’t even remember what I was thinking about -- just keep going, get into a rhythm in my breathing, sort of let the sounds of the water and the crowd take over from there.” The performance was the fourth-fastest all-time, a meet record and a personal best for the high school student from Bethesda, Maryland, who won the 800m free at the London Games.