Katie Ledecky highlighted the opening night of the 2025 U.S. Swimming Championships on Tuesday in Indianapolis by coming close to the 800-meter freestyle world record she set last month in Florida.
Ledecky was more than one second ahead of her world-record pace midway through the fast heat of the 800, but she settled for claiming the meet record of 8:05.76. The nine-time Olympic gold medalist finished 1.64 seconds shy of her world record — netting the third-fastest time in history — but nearly 14 seconds ahead of runner-up Claire Weinstein.
The winner of each event qualifies for the World Aquatics Championship July 11 to Aug. 3 in Singapore, while all second-place finishers earn spots, too, if there are no more than 26 swimmers per gender after all the winners and relay qualifiers are counted.
World-record holder Bobby Finke followed Ledecky’s performance by cruising to victory in the 1500 freestyle. Finke, who won the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medal in 14:30.67, claimed victory Tuesday in 14:48.65. Texas’ David Johnston took second in 14:57.83.
The evening’s finals began with an upset as Stanford rising junior Caroline Bricker edged United States record-holder Regan Smith in the 200 fly by .05 seconds. Bricker trailed by nearly a second at the final turn before hunting down Smith in 2:05.80.
In the men’s 200 fly final, ex-Georgia Bulldog Luca Urlando lived up to his top seed by edging Carson Foster with a winning time of 1:53.42.
Reigning 100 fly Olympic champion Torri Huske showcased her versatility by setting a U.S. Open and meet record in the 100 free with a 52.43 time that edged Gretchen Walsh (52.78). Simone Manuel, who owned the U.S. Open record, finished third.
Cal’s Jack Alexy broke the U.S. Open 100 free record during the morning prelims in 46.99, then came back in the evening to claim the title in 47.17. Arizona State’s Patrick Sammon earned second in 47.47, nudging Chris Guiliano by .02 seconds.
–Field Level Media
