Katie Ledecky’s dominance in the 1500-meter freestyle was on full display during Tuesday’s preliminary heats.
Along with fellow American Katie Grimes, Ledecky competed in the third and final heat and easily qualified for Wednesday’s finals by jumping out to an early lead that only got bigger and bigger over the duration of the race.
With her bronze medal in the 400 free Saturday, Ledecky now has 11 Olympic medals, and she could become the most decorated female Olympic swimmer of all-time at these Games. Jenny Thompson, Dara Torres and Natalie Coughlin are tied at the top with 12.
Did Katie Ledecky qualify for the 1500 freestyle final?
Did she ever. Ledecky won the third heat with a time of 15:47.43, finishing nearly 20 seconds ahead of her closest competitor, Li Bingjie of China.
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Paris Olympics women’s 1500 freestyle heat results
The eight fastest swimmers from the three heats qualified for Wednesday’s final. They are:
- Katie Ledecky, USA — 15:47.43
- Simona Quadarella, Italy — 15:51.19
- Anastasiia Kirpichnikova, France — 15:52.46
- Isabel Gose, Germany — 15:53.27
- Moesha Johnson, Australia — 16:04.02
- Li Bingjie, China — 16:05.26
- Beatriz Dizotti, Brazil — 16:05.40
- Leonie Maertens, Germany — 16:08.69
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When is women’s 1500 freestyle final?
Ledecky will get a day to rest and gear up for the finals, which will be held Wednesday, July 31 at 2:04 p.m. ET.
Katie Ledecky 1500 free results at the Olympics
- 2020 Tokyo: Gold (15:37.24)
