Katie Ledecky surpassed Michael Phelps’ all-time swimming world titles record with dominant 6th 800m victory

Katie Ledecky has once again made swimming history.

One of the most accomplished swimmers in the history of the sport has further strengthened her all-time status.

Swimmer Katie Ledecky earned her 16th career individual swimming world title in the 800-meter freestyle, one of her most best events, on Saturday in Japan, surpassing Michael Phelps’ record.

More Katie Ledecky: Katie Ledecky’s 1,500 free victory is a win for all distance swimmers of the past and present

As all great athletes do, Ledecky said she still found a way she wanted to get better in this historic moment for her career and the sport.

“It was special,” Ledecky told NBC about Saturday’s win, which the news organization reported was the seventh-best time in history. “I’m happy with that swim. I wanted to be a little bit better [time-wise], but I’ll take it. I’m really pleased with how the week went.”

As NBC notes, she’ll still have next year’s Summer Olympics in France to add to her staggering win totals.

Ledecky is a monumental figure in the world of swimming, and Saturday’s accomplishment just further highlights why she’s such a dominant force for the U.S. in the sport.

While she’s done competing at this worlds tournament, her trailblazing career is far from over.

Sports fans couldn’t help but tip their swim caps to Ledecky’s spectacular achievement.

PHOTOS: Highlights from Katie Ledecky’s 1500m gold medal at Fukuoka 2023

Check out this gallery of highlights from Katie Ledecky’s gold medal-winning effort at the World Aquatics Championships Fukuoka 2023.

The World Aquatics Championships Fukuoka 2023 kicked off Saturday, July 22, and included a handful of Florida Gators among its competitors. Among the members of the Orange and Blue competing in the event is former assistant coach [autotag]Katie Ledecky[/autotag], who already earned a silver medal in the 400-meter freestyle on Sunday.

The decorated Olympian took this to the next level on Tuesday morning in the Land of the Rising Sun, the most decorated female swimmer in the worlds competition with 20 golds overall —15 of which have come in individual events, including the one she just earned in the 1500-meter freestyle. The mark ties Michael Phelps’ record in world competition for individual gold medals.

She won with a time 15 minutes, 26.27 seconds — the third quickest time of her career and 17 seconds ahead of the remainder of the competition.

Take a look below at highlights from Ledecky’s record-tying effort at the World Aquatics Championships Fukuoka 2023.

PHOTOS: Highlights from Katie Ledecky’s 400m silver medal at Fukuoka 2023

Check out this gallery of highlights from Katie Ledecky’s silver medal-winning effort at the World Aquatics Championships Fukuoka 2023.

The World Aquatics Championships Fukuoka 2023 kicked off Saturday, July 22, and included a handful of Florida Gators among its competitors. One of the standouts in the 400-meter freestyle event was former volunteer coach [autotag]Katie Ledecky[/autotag], who earned a silver medal with a 3:58.73 swim time.

The hardware was the 23rd World Championships medal of her career.

Prior to her medal-winning effort, Ledecky swam a 4:00.80 in the 400-meter event, giving her a slightly better than two-second improvement between the two.

Take a look below at a gallery of highlights from Katie Ledecky’s silver medal-winning effort at the World Aquatics Championships Fukuoka 2023.

Florida earns pair of titles on final day of Phillips 66 National Championships

Florida swimming wrapped up the Phillips 66 National Championships on a high note on Saturday claiming a pair of titles on the final day.

Florida swimming wrapped up the Phillips 66 National Championships on a high note on Saturday claiming a pair of titles on the final day of competition. Former Olympians [autotag]Bobby Finke[/autotag] and [autotag]Katie Ledecky[/autotag] swept the 800-meter free and 1500-meter free, respectively, to earn national championships in both events to close things out.

For Finke, it was the second time he gold-medaled during the course of the five-day meet, swimming a 7:40.34 — both a US Open record and the fastest time in the world this year — after claiming the national title in the men’s 800-meter free on Saturday night. He also claimed two other medals in the competition.

Ledeki one-upped him, earning her third national title of the week with a time of 15:29.64 — also the fastest time in the world this year.

Other members of the team who brought in a haul of hardware are Kieran Smith, who finished fifth in the A-Final of the men’s 200-meter individual medley, shaving over a second off his prelim time from Saturday morning. Incoming freshman Bella Sims recorded another strong showing in the 200-meter IM A-Final as well, also finishing fifth with a time of 2:12.15.

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Four Gators medaled on Day 4 of Phillips 66 National Championships

Four members of the Florida swimming team earned medals on the fourth day of the Phillips 66 National Championships on Friday.

Four members of the Florida swimming team earned medals on the fourth day of the Phillips 66 National Championships held in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Friday. Men’s swimmers [autotag]Kieran Smith[/autotag] and [autotag]Jake Mitchell[/autotag] as well as women’s team members [autotag]Katie Ledecky[/autotag] and [autotag]Bella Sims[/autotag], all reached the podium on the penultimate day of competition as the quartet dominated in the 400-meter freestyle event.

Smith and Mitchell secured second and third-place finishes with times of 3:46.11 and 3:46.87, respectively, in the A-finals. Ledecky and Sims one-upped their male counterparts, finishing first and second with times of 4:00.45 and 4:03.25, respectively in the A-finals.

The women’s pair have already earned a bid in the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Japan while their male counterparts earned a trip to Land of the Rising Sun with their performances on Thursday.

Adam Chaney placed fifth in the 100-meter backstroke, shaving off more than half a second from his prelim time for a finals swim of 53.34, while assistant Coach Annie Lazor posted a sixth-place finish in the 100-meter breaststroke on Friday night in the A-finals, touching the wall in 1:07.77.

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Five Florida swimmers earned medals at Phillips 66 Championships Wednesday

Five Florida swimmers earned medals at the Phillips 66 Championships on Wednesday night as the Gators continue to dominate the water.

Five Florida swimmers earned medals at the Phillips 66 Championships on Wednesday night as the Gators continue to dominate the water at this summer’s latest competition. Caeleb Dressel, Annie Lazor, Katie Ledecky, Bella Sims and Kieran Smith all took home some hardware after putting up superb performances in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Volunteer coach Ledecky earned a silver medal for her 1:55.28 in the women’s 200m freestyle — just .02 away from first — while incoming freshman Sims took home the bronze in the same event with a personal-best 1:56.08 — almost a second better than her previous top mark.

In the men’s 200m free, Smith notched a 1:45.63 time — dropping .47 seconds off his prelim time — to earn silver. The other member of the men’s team to earn a medal was Dressel, who dropped an event-best .44 seconds off his prelim time to swim a 23.35 as he continues his work his way back into Olympian form.

Finally, assistant coach Lazor added to the Gators’ haul with a 2:25.86 finish to earn the bronze in the women’s 200m breaststroke.

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Gators swim coach Katie Ledecky wins AP Female Athlete of the Year award

It’s safe to say Katie Ledecky’s move to Florida has paid off as she claims her second AP Female Athlete of the Year award.

Swimming star [autotag]Katie Ledecky[/autotag], who trained and coached at the University of Florida this year, was named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year on Wednesday.

Ledecky joined Florida’s swim staff as a volunteer coach in September 2021 after spending time at Stanford, where she competed and earned a psychology degree. Although the move across the country was big, Ledecky has little to no regrets regarding it.

“It’s been a lot of fun every day,” Ledecky said. “This is the right place for me to be at this point in my career. I’m training really well and learning a lot along the way.”

Since moving to Gainesville, Ledecky has done plenty of winning. She finished first in the 800-meter freestyle by more than 10 seconds at this year’s world aquatics championship, won the 1,500 free by more than 15 seconds, earned gold in the 400 free and won the 4×200 free relay with the U.S. team. She also claimed two more world records in the short-course 800 and 1,500 before the year ended.

The move to Florida has also brought out some competitiveness in Ledecky, not that she lacked any motor before. Practicing with the men’s team has opened her up to the world of trash talk, and she’s finally found her footing in her new environment.

“Guys are guys,” she said. “They love to trash-talk with each other. “I’ll poke a little fun at some of the guys, give them a little push here and there. I’m definitely pretty comfortable in this environment now.”

Ledecky doesn’t plan on slowing down, either. She’s currently focused on the 2024 Olympic games in Paris and expects to compete in the 2028 games in Los Angeles. By then, she’ll be 31, and learning how to keep her body fresh as she gets older is one of her major lessons from Florida coach Anthony Nesty.

There’s plenty left to be written in the book of Ledecky, and her time at the University of Florida could play a major part in keeping her on top of the swimming world. This is the second time she has received the AP honor, but no one should count on it being the last.

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Katie Ledecky has her sights set on 2024 Paris Olympics, possibly 2028 Los Angeles Games

Katie Ledecky wrapped up her Tokyo Olympics with two silver and two gold medals. She’s now looking ahead to Paris and Los Angeles Games.

Katie Ledecky wrapped up her Tokyo Olympics with two silver and two gold medals. She’s now looking ahead to Paris and Los Angeles Games.