Katie Ledecky fell short of her national-record time but still won the 400-meter freestyle title at the U.S. Swimming Championships in Indianapolis on Friday.
Though Ledecky was on pace to break her U.S. mark (3 minutes, 56.46 seconds) midway through the final, she tailed off to finish in 3:58.56. Claire Weinstein wound up second in 4:00.05, with Bella Sims third at 4:07.11.
“(Getting off to a fast start was) not too important,” Ledecky said. “I just wanted to put together a solid race. I was definitely hurting the last 100, but overall I’m pretty happy with that.”
Ledecky, a nine-time Olympic gold medalist, registered the 32nd national championship of her storied career.
Regarding her longevity, the 28-year-old Washington, D.C., native said, “A lot of consistency year after year and always believing that I had something more in me after that consistency, just kind of trusting that that would pay off, and my coaches have always believed in me. So, have to give a big thank you to them for continuing to push me and believe in me.”
Another 28-year-old Olympic champion, Lilly King, finished second in her final domestic race, the women’s 100 breaststroke. Kate Douglass prevailed in 1:05.79, while King was runner-up at 1:06.02, well off her world-record time of 1:04.13, set in 2017. Alex Walsh came in third at 1:06.50.
Rex Maurer set at U.S. Open record in the men’s 400 freestyle at 3:43.33. The old mark of 3:43.53 was set by Larsen Jensen in 2008. Luka Mijatovic claimed second place in 3:45.71, and Ryan Erisman rounded out the top three in 3:46.01.
Campbell McKean won the men’s 100 breaststroke in 58.96. Josh Matheny followed at 59.18, and Nate Germonprez placed third in 59.89.
Regan Smith triumphed in the women’s 100 backstroke in 57.69. Katharine Berkoff captured second place in 58.13, and Leah Shackley and Claire Curzan shared third place, both touching in 58.60.
Tommy Janton was the men’s 100 backstroke champion with a time of 53.00. Jack Aikins (53.19) and Daniel Diehl (53.35) followed.
–Field Level Media
