Katie Ledecky posts second-best 1,500m time ever, 7 years after setting world record

Katie Ledecky posted the best women’s 1,500-meter time ever when she was 21 years old. She posted the second-best women’s 1,500-meter time ever when she was 28 years old, on Wednesday.

The nine-time Olympic gold medalist continued one of the most dominant runs the sport of swimming has ever seen at a specific event with a time of 15:24.51 in a heat at the Lauderdale Pro Swim Series on Wednesday.

She beat her next-closest competitor, Jillian Cox, in the pool by 39 seconds.

As SwimSwam compiled, Ledecky now boasts the 22 fastest times in the history of the women’s 1,500-meter, with times from 2014 and 2025:

1. Katie Ledecky — 15:20.48 (2018)

2. Katie Ledecky — 15:24.41 (2025)

3. Katie Ledecky — 15:25.48 (2015)

4. Katie Ledecky — 15:26.27 (2023)

5. Katie Ledecky — 15:27.71 (2015)

6. Katie Ledecky — 15:28.36 (2014)

7. Katie Ledecky — 15:29.51 (2020)

8. Katie Ledecky — 15:29.64 (2023)

9. Katie Ledecky — 15:30.02 (2024)

10. Katie Ledecky — 15:30.15 (2022)

11. Katie Ledecky — 15:31.82 (2017)

12. Katie Ledecky — 15:34.23 (2014)

13. Katie Ledecky — 15:35.35 (2020)

14. Katie Ledecky — 15:35.65 (2017)

15. Katie Ledecky — 15:35.98 (2019)

16. Katie Ledecky — 15:36.53 (2013)

17. Katie Ledecky — 15:36.87 (2025)

18. Katie Ledecky — 15:37.34 (2021)

19. Katie Ledecky — 15:37.35 (2024)

20. Katie Ledecky — 15:37.99 (2023)

21. Katie Ledecky — 15:38.25 (2024)

22. Katie Ledecky — 15:38.81 (2024)

SwimSwam also notes Ledecky was on a world-record pace after 500 meters, and her split of 8:12.76 at the 800-meter mark is better than the time of every 800-meter swimmer this year other than Ariarne Titmus and Summer McIntosh. The split would have won bronze in the 800-meter final in the 2024 Olympics.

Ledecky’s performance on Wednesday was a 5.5-second improvement on the time that won her gold in Paris last year (No. 9 on the list above). Ledecky has already signaled an interest in competing in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and her continued dominance in this event means qualifying for at least one race won’t be an issue.

The 1,500-meter race was added to the Olympic program in 2020, and Ledecky has won both races by a combined 14 seconds. She also holds four Olympic golds in the 800 meter, the event where she broke through in London in 2012 as a 15-year-old.

Ledecky is also on the program for the 200-meter, 400-meter and 800-meter freestyle, so more history could be coming this week.