Katie Ledecky wins 200-meter freestyle at U.S. National Swimming Championships 2022, almost beats national record

Despite not swimming the 200-meter freestyle at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships, Katie Ledecky clinched the first position in the same category on the second day of the U.S. National Swimming Championships 2022. Her last win in the category was back at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Katie Ledecky completed the distance in 1:54:50 minutes. She was followed by Erin Gemmell and Claire Tuggle, who took 1:56:14 minutes and 1:58:34 minutes, respectively, to cover the same distance. Gemmell’s performance was also commendable as she tailed Ledecky from the very beginning and lost by only 1.64 seconds.

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Katie Ledecky came close to breaking Allison Schmitt’s record

Katie Ledecky at the U.S. National Swimming Championships 2022 (Image Spitser Photography)

Ledecky, one of the most popular American swimmers, was .10 seconds away from breaking the national record in the country. This record was set by Allison Schmitt way back in 2012 in the 200-meter freestyle final of the United States Olympic Trails.

With respect to her performance in the 200-meter freestyle final at the U.S. National Swimming Championships 2022, Ledecky said on the Olympic Channel:

“I’m really happy with that time. I didn’t feel so great today, so really wasn’t expecting to go that fast.”

This was the fourth-best time taken by Ledecky to complete the 200-meter freestyle. Her personal best was at the 2016 Summer Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro, where she completed the race in 1:53:73 seconds.

Ledecky has her fair share of wins in both domestic as well as international tournaments. She has a total of seven Olympic golds and three Olympic silver medals to her name.

Aside from the prestigious Olympics, Ledecky has also secured medals in multiple Pan Pacific Championships and World Championships.

At the latest World Championships held in Budapest a month ago, she secured four gold medals in the 400-meter freestyle, 800-meter freestyle, 1500-meter freestyle, and 4x200-meter freestyle events.