Ledecky smashes own 1,500m record in pro debut

TIL Desk Sports/ Five-time Olympic swimming champion Katie Ledecky smashed her own 1,500m freestyle world record by five seconds in her first race as a professional. The 21-year-old American star touched the wall in 15min 20.48sec at the Pro Swim event in Indianapolis, obliterating her previous best of 15:25.48 set at the World Championships in Kazan in 2015.

“I was pretty surprised when I saw the ’20,'” Ledecky said with a little laugh, adding that she thought as the swim unfolded that she would be somewhere under 15:30, maybe. “When I saw the 15:20 I was pretty shocked,” she said.

This week’s meet in Indianapolis is Ledecky’s first since turning professional following the NCAA collegiate championships in March. “My first pro swim — that’s one I’ll never forget,” said Ledecky, who added that so far she hadn’t felt any different in her first meet as a professional.

Ledecky won gold in the 800m at the 2012 Olympics and followed it up with four golds and a silver at the Rio Olympics two years ago. The 1,500m free will be introduced as an Olympic event for women at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.