Katie Ledecky continues to dominate at the U.S. national championships. The 25-year-old won the 200-meter freestyle Wednesday with a time of 1:54.50.
That time would have won gold at the world championships in June by nearly half a second, beating out China’s Yang Junxuan, who won the title in 1:54.92. Ledecky passed on the event at worlds, in part because the semifinal heats took place on the same night as the 1,500 freestyle final, NBC Sports reported.
At the U.S. championships in Irvine, California, Ledecky beat the next closest competitor by 1.64 seconds. Erin Gemmell, 17, took silver in 1:56.14, making her the ninth-fastest American woman in history, and Claire Tuggle took third in a time of 1:58.34.
For Ledecky, the swim came one day after she opened the meet with a staggering win in the 800 freestyle. With her time of 8:12.03, she won gold by 19.89 seconds over second-place finisher Kensey McMahon. Ledecky now owns the 29 fastest times in history.
“I’m happy with that,” said Ledecky, whose time Tuesday sits at No. 19 on the all-time list. “I didn’t really have any expectations coming into this.”
The time was faster than the time she…
