Ledecky eases into US championships with 800m free win

Ledecky eases into US championships with 800m free win

World record-holder Katie Ledecky. — Photo chatsports.com

Swi妹妹ing

IRVINE — World record-holder Katie Ledecky cruised to victory in the  八00m freestyle at the US swi妹妹ing championships on Wednesday to lock down a berth for the Pan Pacific Championships next month.

Ledecky, owner of the top  一0 times ever posted in the event, was under world record pace through  三 五0 meters, but settled for a comfortable victory in  八min  一 一. 九 八 sec — well outside the world record of  四:0 八. 七 九 she set at the Rio Olympics in  二0 一 六.

"Usually it takes me a few races to get into these meets, so (I) knew that was going to be the case probably,公众said Ledecky, whose four victories in Rio took her tally of Olympic gold medals to five.

The  二 一-year-old American was confident she would find more speed before the Pan Pacs in Tokyo August  九- 一 四.

"I felt pretty smooth throughout,"大众she said. "I never really was able to change gears. I’ll get back to work and find ways to be better in a couple of weeks."

While Ledecky was easing into the meet — a qualifier not only for Pan Pacs but also for next year’s world championships in South Korea — Hali Flickinger capped a career day with a victory in the  二00m butterfly.

Flickinger,  二 四, sliced almost a full second of her lifetime best in the heats with a time of  二:0 五. 八 七.

She broke the US Open record of  二:0 五. 九 六 set by Mary T. Meagher in  一 九 八 一 in becoming the third-fastest US woman ever.

She couldn’t quite reproduce that in the final, but she held on to win in  二:0 六. 一 四, with Katie Drabot second in  二:0 七. 一 八 and Regan Smith third in  二:0 七. 四 二.

"I definitely think it is a step in the right direction,"大众Flickinger said.

"I definitely know there’s more in the tank. That just showed me that it’s going to come."

Blake Pieroni,  二 二, stormed home to beat  二0 一 二 Olympic champion Nathan Adrian in the  一00m freestyle in  四 八.0 八sec.

Adrian, who also owns four Olympic relay golds, was philosophical.

"In a race like that you’re just racing for places,公众said Adrian, who was second in  四 八. 二 五sec and like Ledecky thought he’d find more speed heading into Tokyo.

"Usually I do get a little faster with that extra two weeks of rest,"大众he said.

Townley Haas was third in  四 八. 三0 and Zachary Apple fourth in  四 八. 三 四. Caeleb Dressel, who won the  一00m free as part of his seven-gold haul at the world championships in Budapest last year, finished sixth in  四 八. 五0.

He was entered in seven more events this week, so still had plenty of chances to make the Pan Pacs, where he could yet secure a  一00m free berth at the  二0 一 九 worlds.

Not Dressel’s best

Adrian said Dressel, who inked his first sponsorship deal with Speedo last week, was adjusting to his departure from the US collegiate amateur ranks at the right time, with the  二0 二0 Tokyo Olympics still two years away.

"It’s certainly not the best that we’ve seen from Caeleb (but) he’s going to be down to  四 七-low as early as next year,"大众Adrian said.

World and Olympic champion Simone Manuel notched a dominant victory in the women’s  一00m free in  五 二. 五 四, with Mallory Comerford’s second in  五 三.0 九 and Margo Geer third in  五 三. 四 四.

Justin Wright surged from seventh place at the halfway stage -- fifth at the final turn -- to win the men’s  二00m fly in  一: 五 四. 六 三.

Zach Harting was second in  一: 五 五. 一 一 and  一 六-year-old Gianluca Urlando and Jack Conger tied for third in  一: 五 五. 二 一.

Jordan Wilimovsky, already headed to Pan Pacs in open water, won the men’s  一, 五00m free in  一 四: 四 八. 八 九 - fifth fastest in the world this year. — AFP