Article author:
Reuters
Katie Ledecky performed a great swim at the FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, winning her fifth record 800m freestyle on Friday.
Ledecky finished in 8 minutes 8.04 seconds and easily overtook Australia's Kiah Melverton (8: 18.77) and Italy's Simona Quadarella (8: 19.00).
With this victory, the 25-year-old swimmer, male or female, has won five world championships in one area. The time was less than four seconds from her own world record of 8: 04.79 set at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
"I was the fastest in the last few years," Bethesda, Maryland said later. "It's really good to have a great end of the week."
Ledecky, who won six Olympic gold medals, set the fastest time of 27 times in 800 frees.
Ledecky won four gold medals at this week's World Championships, increasing her total career to 19. This is the highest number of female swimmers in history.
"It's a year of hard work every year," Ledecky said. “Looking back at London (2012 Olympics), we aimed not to be a one-hit wonder. Ten years from now. I'm really proud of it and still excited about the future.
Ledecky broke his relationship with Ryan Lochte (18) and came in second on the list of the best gold medals for men or women in history. Michael Phelps (26) won the most gold medals.
– Field-level media
