BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) – Katie Ledecky breezed to her third gold medal of the world championships on Tuesday, capturing the 1,500-meter freestyle by more than half the length of the pool on her most grueling night of the meet.
Ledecky touched in 15 minutes, 31.82 seconds – more than 6 seconds off her world-record pace from the championships in Kazan two years ago, but clearly conserving energy for her second race of the night.
She only has a 49-minute break before returning to the pool for the semifinals of the 200 free.
Having already won the 400 free and 4×100 free relay on the opening day of swimming, Ledecky stayed on course for a record-tying six golds by a female swimmer. This was one of the biggest locks of all, and the 20-year-old was essentially just racing herself as the rest of the field fell far behind.