Five-time Olympic swimming champion Katie Ledecky smashed her own 1,500m freestyle world record by five seconds on Wednesday in her first race as a professional. The 21-year-old American star touched the wall in 15min 20.48sec at the Pro Swim event in Indianapolis, obliterating her previous best of 15:25.48 set at the World Championships in Kazan in 2015.
"I was pretty surprised when I saw the '20,'" Ledecky said with a little laugh, adding that she thought as the swim unfolded that she would be somewhere under 15:30, maybe.
"When I saw the 15:20 I was pretty shocked," she said. This week's meet in Indianapolis is Ledecky's first since turning professional following the NCAA collegiate championships in March.
"My first pro swim - that's one I'll never forget," said Ledecky, who added that so far she hadn't felt any different in her first meet as a professional.