Katie Ledecky clocks the world's fastest 1500m freestyle time in 2024 at Atlanta Classic as she gears up for the Paris Olympics

American competitive swimmer Katie Ledecky clocked the fastest women’s 1500m freestyle timing in the world in the year 2024 at the ongoing Atlanta Classic. The tournament is underway from May 15 to May 18 at the McAuley Aquatic Center.

Ledecky swam a sensational time of 15:38.25 as she won comprehensively, finishing ahead of Ashley Twichell, who specializes in both long-distance and open water swimming, and the NCAA champion in the 1650-yard freestyle Abby McCulloh. They clocked times of 16:22.69 and 16:24.90 to place second and third respectively.

SwimSwam Live, managed by SwimSwam, took to their X account, to share the news with the swimming community.

Regarded as one of the greatest distance swimmers of all time, Ledecky had started the Olympic season at the 2024 TYR Pro Swim Series Knoxville in her most dominant event where she achieved a time of 15:38.81.

She also went on to win the 800m freestyle and 400m freestyle at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Knoxville by registering times of 8:14.97 and 4:03.46. She also finished second in the 400m individual medley with a time of 4:44.82 at the meet.

The 27-year-old also participated in the TYR Pro Swim Series meet held in San Antonio. There, she collected top honors in the women’s 800m and 400m freestyle and came second in the 200m freestyle as she recorded 8:12.95, 4:01.41, and 1:54.97 in the events, respectively.

It is worth noting that Ledecky holds the world record in the women’s 1500m and 800m in both long course and short course. In the long course, the world's best times set by her are 15:20.48 and 8:04.79, while in the short course, she has clocked 15:08.24 and 7:57.42.

Katie Ledecky set to feature at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials as she gears up for Paris Olympics

Katie Ledecky poses with her two Gold and two Silver medals during the Tokyo Olympic Games on July 31, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Katie Ledecky recently showed her anticipation for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Swimming as she aims to compete in her fourth Olympic Games. She took to her Instagram to share her excitement, stating:

“Racing this week💥 Trials in 1 month 🤩”

The trials, slated from June 15 to 23, will witness Ledecky compete across multiple swimming disciplines to secure her spot in the nation’s Olympic squad. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she bagged four Olympic medals, including two golds in the 1500m and 800m freestyle.

Katie Ledecky won the silver medal in 400m freestyle only finishing behind Australia’s Ariarne Titmus, and played a crucial role in the USA’s second-place finish in the 4x200m freestyle.