(Reuters) -Katie Ledecky delivered another masterclass in distance swimming to collect her sixth world title in the 1,500 metres freestyle on Tuesday and while she was never threatened in the final she felt her rivals were helping her push the sport forward.
The American great has now won 22 world titles and her gold on Tuesday took her overall medal tally to 28, second only to compatriot Michael Phelps’s 33.
Ledecky, who has won nine Olympic gold medals, was well under her own world record pace for much of the race at the Singapore Sports Hub but eased off in the last 200 metres to touch the wall in 15 minutes and 26.44 seconds.
That was more than 5 seconds clear of silver medallist Italian Simona Quadarella, whose time of 15:31.79 made her the second quickest swimmer in the event — though it is still slower than 11 of Ledecky’s times.
“I just wanted to try to get out fast, but comfortable enough that I can build from there. Happy with the time, happy with the swim,” Ledecky said.
“That was an awesome swim from Simona. Second fastest performer ever. The distance races are really quick right now. Just good to see how much we can push the sport forward. It’s great to push the sport forward all together …
“All the events in the distance freestyles are moving forward, both on the women’s and men’s side.”
Australian Lani Pallister hung on Ledecky’s hip for a good portion of the race but could not sustain the pace and finished as the bronze medallist.
“I kind of had a sense that I was probably out pretty fast, because Lani tends to take it out fast, and just having her right by my side for such a long portion really kept me on my toes and kept me moving forward,” the 28-year-old added.
“I was hopeful that as I kind of extended, I was able to hold that pace. I wasn’t quite sure where I was at.”
Ledecky, who finished third behind Summer McIntosh in the 400 on Sunday, is set to come up against the Canadian sensation again in the 800 later this week.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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