Distant Seconds
AT THE 2015 FINA World Championships that begin this week in Kazan, Russia, freestyler Katie Ledecky won't be racing the field so much as chasing after the world records she has set and reset over the last three years. Such is the life of today's most dominant swimmer, who graduated from Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda, Md., in June. In the 400-, 800- and 1,500-meter free, the three events Ledecky owns, the 18-year-old is a lock to swim away with gold—and the races probably won't be close. Compare the margin of victory in her world-record-setting wins with those of Janet Evans, the last American to dominate the same events.
[The following text appears within a chart. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual chart.]
10m
20m
30m
40m
50m
400 m
Aug. 21, 2014
Sept. 22, 1988
Distance ahead of second-place finisher
800 m
June 19, 2014
Date of Race
Aug. 20, 1989
1,500 m
Aug. 21, 2014
March 26, 1988
PHOTO
CHRIS HYDE/GETTY IMAGES (LEDECKY TOP)
PHOTO
MATT ROBERTS/GETTY IMAGES (LEDECKY STANDING)
Katie Ledecky
PHOTO
TONY DUFFY/ALLSPORT (EVANS)
Janet Evans
CHART
