Every World Record Katie Ledecky Has Ever Owned

She's viewed by many as the greatest female swimmer of all-time.

Josh Wilson, Liam McKeone | Jul 31, 2024

Katie Ledecky swims for USA at the Paris Olympics / Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

As Katie Ledecky gets ready to compete in her first medal events of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, she's after what would be a record-tying 12th medal in women's swimming. Two medals in this Olympics would give her the record outright.

But, beyond that record of total medals, she has set the standard for excellence in the sport for over a decade now on an event level. Her times in swimming events have broken records and look like they'll stand the test of time, at least for a while until the next great swimmer works up the ranks.

Here is a look at all the world records Ledecky has ever held.

Event	Ledecky World PR	Record set	Ledecky held since	Still held?
800-meter freestyle	8:04.79	August 12, 2016	August 3, 2023	Yes
1500-meter freestyle	15:20.48	May 16, 2018	July 30, 2013	Yes
400-meter freestyle	3:56.46	August 7, 2016	Broken May 22, 2022	No

Ledecky has bested her own PR for the 800-meter freestyle four times. The 1500-meter freestyle she has broken five times. The 400-meter freestyle she broke twice before losing the record, but still holds the fastest time ever posted at an Olympic games in that event.

In addition to her world records, she owns a handful of fastest times in United States events, which are measured in yards.

Can she break any records at the 2024 Olympics?

Entering the Paris Games, Ledecky faced three opportunities to set new individual records, all in the above events where she already holds the world record. While in France, Ledecky was slated to compete in the 400-meter freestyle, the 1500-meter freestyle, and the 800-meter freestyle.

As of writing, Ledecky already competed in the 400-meter freestyle heats and final. She ended up finishing third in the final and did not break her own record. Australian Ariarne Titmus took home gold with a time of 3:57.49.

On July 31, Ledecky is scheduled to compete in the 1500-meter freestyle final. She did not break her own records in the heats leading up to the final.

As for the rest of the Olympics: Ledecky will be competing in the 800-meter freestyle on Friday, August 2 and Saturday, August 3. That will be her last chance to set a new record at this year's Games.

Published Jul 27, 2024|Modified Jul 31, 2024

JOSH WILSON

Josh Wilson is the news director of the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in 2024, he worked for FanSided in a variety of roles, most recently as senior managing editor of the brand’s flagship site. He has also served as a general manager of Sportscasting, the sports arm of a start-up sports media company, where he oversaw the site’s editorial and business strategy. Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from SUNY Cortland and a master’s in accountancy from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. He loves a good nonfiction book and enjoys learning and practicing Polish. Wilson lives in Chicago but was raised in upstate New York. He spent most of his life in the Northeast and briefly lived in Poland, where he ate an unhealthy amount of pastries for six months.

LIAM MCKEONE

Liam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in May 2024, McKeone worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, he is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books and video games. McKeone has been a member of the National Sports Media Association since 2020.