AMERICAN swimming legend Katie Ledecky is making it clear that she won’t be giving up her 800-meter freestyle title easily.
In the world championships heats on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, Ledecky posted a dominant time of 8:14.62, finishing more than five seconds ahead of her closest rivals.
Lani Pallister of Australia was the second-fastest qualifier (8:17.06), while Canadian teenager Summer McIntosh was third (8:19.88).
McIntosh, who has already won three individual titles at the championships, is aiming to match Michael Phelps’s record of five titles but faces her biggest challenge in Ledecky, who is the reigning four-time Olympic and six-time world champion in the event.
Despite Ledecky’s impressive performance, McIntosh downplayed the result, stating that her goal was simply to conserve energy and secure a spot in the final.
“My goal was just to win my heat, to pretty much secure that I’ll get a lane for tomorrow night’s final, and do that with the least amount of energy possible,” she explained.
The rivalry between Ledecky and McIntosh has been heating up. Ledecky, 28, broke her own 800-meter world record in May with a blistering time of 8:04.12. However, McIntosh ended Ledecky’s 13-year unbeaten streak in 2024 and posted the third-fastest time ever in the event in June.
Serbian Andrej Barna was the fastest qualifier in the men’s 50m freestyle with a time of 21.44 seconds. Olympic champion Cameron McEvoy of Australia was fourth (21.53).
Noteworthy absences from the semi-finals included Australian Kyle Chalmers, a former Olympic and world champion, and David Popovici, who withdrew after winning both the 100m and 200m titles.
Australian Kaylee McKeown led the women’s 200m backstroke field with a time of 2:08.01. Her American rival, Regan Smith, was fifth-fastest (2:08.65), while defending champion Claire Curzan was third.
Swiss swimmer Noe Ponti was the top seed heading in the men’s 100m butterfly with a time of 50.68. The field was incredibly tight, with the top 16 swimmers separated by less than a second.
American Gretchen Walsh, who had withdrawn from the 100-meter freestyle prelims due to illness, squashed any fitness concerns by topping the women’s 50m butterfly heats with a time of 25.22.
Britain, the reigning Olympic champions, are the favorites for the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay gold after finishing quickest in the heats with a time of 7:03.98. / FROM THE WIRES