Katie Ledecky Breaks 800-Meter Freestyle World Record She Set 9 Years Ago

• Katie Ledecky broke her own world record for the women’s 800-meter freestyle during the TYR Pro Swim Series on May 3
• The 14-time Olympic medalist finished .67 seconds ahead of the record she set at the 2016 Rio Olympics
• “It’s been so many years in the making to do it tonight,” she said after the event in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Katie Ledecky just swam past her own world record!

On Saturday, May 3, the nine-time Olympic gold medalist broke the record for the women’s 800-meter freestyle, speeding by a time she set herself almost a decade ago.

During the TYR Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Ledecky clocked in at 8:04.12 — finishing an impressive .67 seconds ahead of the previous 8:04.79 world record she set herself at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Per USA Swimming, the 28-year-old Olympian clocked in ahead of second- and third-place finishers Jillian Cox (8:23.58) and Claire Weinstein (8:26.06).

She now holds the top ten performances of all time in the event.

“I can’t stop smiling, it’s been like that all week though, so it’s not really new,” she said of her new world record. “It’s been so many years in the making to do it tonight. It’s been an incredible night. There is always a story to each world record that I set.”

“I think tonight is the first one I’ve done when another American has done it. Hats off to Gretchen [Walsh] for getting us rolling this morning and starting a world record party,” she added of fellow swimmer Walsh, who lowered her world record in the women’s 100-meter butterfly and did the same in the evening finals. “The crowd was amazing tonight; I couldn’t have done it without that. I flipped at the 750, and it was loud in here, and I just told myself I’m not letting this opportunity go to waste and started sprinting.”

As Ledecky explained, she saw Greg Meehan, USA Swimming national team managing director, going “nuts” around the 300 mark, while others “got into it around the 500.”

“I know not to react or get too excited too early,” she said.

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The accomplishment came just days after Ledecky swam the second-fastest time in world history for the women’s 1500-meter freestyle — clocking in at 15:24.51 seconds.

“I’m pretty fired up,” she said earlier in the week. “I’ve been training really well and feeling good going into this meet, but you never know. It’s not like it’s the biggest meet of the year or anything, I just wanted [my time] to be a season best, which would have been 15:36. I’m pretty ecstatic.”

In March, she caught up with PEOPLE and reflected on her experience at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she secured two gold medals (for the 1500-meter freestyle and 800-meter freestyle), a silver (4 x 200-meter freestyle relay) and a bronze (400-meter freestyle).

She called the team “a great mix of veterans and rookies,” adding that they all “tried to share our experiences that we’ve had in the past with the younger athletes and get them well prepared.”

“I was honored to be a flag bearer there, and that was a really great opportunity to meet a lot more of Team USA,” she added. “And at that point, everyone’s done competing, everyone’s really happy and in a celebratory mood, so it was a lot of fun to just enjoy that moment with my teammates.”