Katie Ledecky posted the second-fastest 800 meters freestyle in history on Saturday, threatening her own world record in a victory at the Arena Pro Swim Series stop at Austin. The Olympic gold medallist won in eight minutes, 11.21 seconds to complete a sweep of the 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle events at the meet.
She was 28 seconds clear of runner-up Elizabeth Beisel, who finished second in 8:39.76.
"I swam it the right way, and that's always a good feeling," Ledecky said. "I definitely wanted to take advantage of that."
Throughout much of the first 600 meters, Ledecky was under the pace of her world record of 8:11.00, set on June 22, 2014 at Shenandoah, Texas. "I'm feeling pretty good. I know that training is paying off," Ledecky said.