Katie Ledecky Pops Impressive 800 Freestyle at Austin Pro Series

USA Swimming Pro Series Austin, Day Four Finals: Katie Ledecky Pops Impressive 800 Freestyle; Regan Smith Dominates 200 Fly

The final night of the USA Swimming Pro Series stop in Austin will once again feature some of the premier names in the sport, including Katie Ledecky in the opening event of the session. The four-time Olympic champion in the 800-meter freestyle will contest that event at the Jamail Swim Center and has already earned victories at the University of Texas in the 1500 freestyle and 400 freestyle. In the 1500 freestyle, Ledecky posted the second-fastest time in history.

France’s Leon Marchand is set to contest the 200 breaststroke, an event in which he is the reigning Olympic titlist, and rising star Rylee Erisman will be the top seed in the 100 freestyle. Meanwhile, Regan Smith is scheduled to see duty in the finals of the 50 backstroke and 200 butterfly. Frenchman Maxime Grousset will chase victories in the 50 butterfly and 100 freestyle.

Results
Day One Finals
Day Two Finals
Day Three Finals

Here’s an event-by-event recap of the Night Three action from Austin:

Women’s 800 Freestyle

The incomparable Katie Ledecky jumpstarted the final session of the Pro Series’ visit to Austin by winning the 800 freestyle in 8:10.16, the 14th-fastest time of her illustrious career. Ledecky basically raced against the clock for her 16 laps, and delivered a time that has only been bettered by three women in history – herself, Summer McIntosh and Lani Pallister. The victory marked Ledecky’s third title of the meet, complementing earlier triumphs in the 1500 freestyle and 400 freestyle.

The meet was a strong start to Ledecky’s 2026 campaign, which will be highlighted by her appearance in the summer at the Pan Pacific Championships. Not only did she go 8:10 in the 800 freestyle, she notched history’s second-fastest time in the 1500 freestyle. In the 800 free, second place behind Ledecky went to Brinkleigh Hansen, who touched the wall in 8:35.78.

Women’s 200 Butterfly

Racing the first of two events on the night, Regan Smith churned out a superb performance in the 200 butterfly. The reigning Olympic silver medalist in the meet, Smith logged a time of 2:05.29, which was good four a four-plus second advantage over runnerup Lindsay Looney (2:09.64). Smith was the champion of the 100 butterfly earlier in the meet, having goine 56-low in that event.

Smith went out in 27.82 and turned at the midway point of the race in 59.31, a split that had her two seconds clear of the field. Smith made the 150-meter turn in 1:31.88 and she came home in 33.41 for her 2:05-low showing.

Men’s 200 Butterfly

Cal’s Gabriel Jett never had the lead in the final of the 200 butterfly until the last length, where he was able to pull ahead of fellow American Carson Foster. Jett posted a time of 1:56.44, which was a half-second faster than the 1:56.93 produced by Foster. The difference was on the last lap, as Jett turned in a split of 30.84, compared to the 31.42 of Foster, who had a .09 edge through 150 meters.

Ryan Erisman continued his strong meet by placing third in 1:58.00. Erisman previously won the 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle.

Women’s 50 Butterfly

France’s Marie Wattel saved her best for the final round of the 50 butterfly. After easing through the prelims and semifinals on Friday, Wattel went 26.01 to grab the victory on Saturday night. Wattel’s time was comfortably clear of the 26.38 notched by American Charlotte Crush for second place.

Men’s 50 Butterfly

For the second straight day, Frenchman Maxime Grousset registered a U.S. Open record in the 50 butterfly, this time on the strength of a 22.80 performance. Grousset’s time cut .01 off the record he established during the semifinals and it gave the reigning world champion a dominant win. The United States’ Van Mathias continued to display his sprinting prowess by finishing second in 23.06. Earlier in the meet, Mathias won the 50 breaststroke.

Placing third was Caeleb Dressel, the American-record holder in the event. Dressel came through with a solid mark of 23.29.

Women’s 200 Breaststroke

Grace Palmer was a wire-to-wire winner in the 200 breaststroke as the LSU athlete delivered a swim of 2:30.57, which handed her a margin of victory of 1.51 seconds. Grace Hunt was the runnerup in 2:32.08.

Men’s 200 Breaststroke

Reigning Olympic champion Leon Marchand sat in third place through the opening two lengths of the 200 breaststroke, but the European record holder had too much for the field over the back half of the race. Marchand managed a time of 2:09.72 to grab the win, with Denis Petrashov finishing second in 2:10.75. Marchand was .56 back of Petrashov at the halfway point, but was in the lead at the 150-meter turn and expanded his edge down the final length.

The win was Marchand’s third of the meet, complementing prior triumphs in the 200 individual medley and 400 IM.