"Swimming legend" Katie Ledecky (26 years old • USA) took a step towards winning her 20th gold medal at the World Swimming Championships. On the 24th, in the women's 1500m freestyle heats of the 2023 World Aquatics Championships held in Fukuoka, Japan, Ledecky finished the race with a time of 15:41.22 and entered the final (8) with the first place among 29 people. In the heats, Ledecki took the lead, extending her lead to second-placed Simone Cuadarella (24-year-old Italy) to 13.83 seconds in 15:55.05. The final of this project will be held at 7:10 p.m. Beijing time on the 25th.
The well-deserved Ledecky
Ledecky won 19 gold medals and three silver medals at five World Championships from 2013 to 2022. In Fukuoka, he won the silver medal in the women's 400m freestyle final on the 23rd day of the swimming competition. In the 400m freestyle, Titmus (22 years old • Australia) won the new world record of 3:55.38, with Ledecky second in 3:58.73.
Although he ceded victory to Titmus in "Showdown of the Century", Ledecky accepted the result indifferently in an interview with The Associated Press: "Aren't there many people today who saw the birth of a new world record? Women's swimming records are getting better this year, and I predict that the world record will be set. If someone is ahead, others will follow. ”
The top three winners in the women's 400m freestyle at the 2023 World Championships, with runner-up Ledecky on the left
Ledecky wrote on his social networking service (SNS): "Happy with my first day of the tournament. It's always a pleasure to represent the United States, and I received a medal for the United States. The game has just begun. Expect the 1500m freestyle competition. ”
In the women's 1500m freestyle final, Ledecky was the most powerful favourite. Ledecki achieved three consecutive titles in Barcelona in 2013, Kazan in 2015 and Budapest in 2017, abstained in the final due to fever in Gwangju in 2019, but regained the 1500m title in Budapest in 2022. The world record (15:20.48) and the season's high (15:29.64) were also held by Ledecky.
Ledecky wears the title of the most gold medalist at the World Championships among female swimmers. If they win gold in the 1500m, for the first time, a female swimmer will win 20 world championship gold medals. If they also win gold in the 800m freestyle, which has won the 1500m and recently won five consecutive titles, they will be tied for first place at the World Championships with synchronized swimmer Svetlana Romashna (Russia), who won 21 gold medals.
Phelps was on hand to witness France's Marchand break his men's 400 world record with a 4:02.50 to win the 2023 World Swimming Championships
The record for the most gold medals at the World Championships is 26 held by Michael Phelps "The Emperor" (USA). After entering the 21st century, the World Aquatics Championships are held every two years. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, there was a problem with the schedule of the World Swimming Championships, which will be held for four consecutive years from 2022 to 2025. If Ledecky plays strongly in Fukuoka, she also has a chance to surpass Phelps' 26-title record at Doha 2024 and the World Championships in Singapore 2025.