Katie Ledecky, Bobby Finke Snare 800 Freestyle Titles at Fort Lauderdale Open
Just days after she posted one of the fastest times in the history of the 1500-meter freestyle, Katie Ledecky capped the Fort Lauderdale Open with a dominant victory in the 800 freestyle on Saturday night. A four-time Olympic champion in the 800 free, Ledecky dialed up a time of 8:12.66, which handed the 29-year-old a 28-second victory over runnerup Katie Grimes (8:40.80).
Ledecky’s effort marked the 34th time in her illustrious career in which she cracked the 8:13 barrier. How impressive is that statistic? Only four other women have accomplished the feat, and Ledecky is the only American to have gone sub-8:13. Ledecky has made the most of her stops in Fort Lauderdale over the past two years. A year ago, she set a world record of 8:04.12 in the 800 freestyle.
In addition to her quartet of Olympic titles in the 800 freestyle, Ledecky owns seven world championships. But this summer, her focus will be on the Pan Pacific Championships, where she’ll chase gold in Southern California. Ledecky has previously won Pan Pac crowns in the event in 2014 and 2018, and her chase for a 2026 gold medal could feature a clash with Canadian Summer McIntosh and Australian Lani Pallister.
While Ledecky won the women’s edition of the 800 freestyle, training partner Bobby Finke was victorious in the men’s event, as the 2020 Olympic champion clipped William Mulgrew, 7:53.17 to 7:53.34. Earlier in the meet, Mulgrew was the winner of the 1500 freestyle while Finke finished second.
Finke mined Olympic gold in the 800 freestyle at the 2020 Games in Tokyo and followed up with a silver medal in the event at the 2024 Games in Paris.
