By Will Baxley on SwimSwam
It’s only June, and the women’s 800 free has already experienced its fastest year ever.
After Katie Ledecky delivered a mind-boggling 8:04.79 to win gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, nobody neared that time for eight more years – Ledecky included. Flash forward to 2025, and Ledecky suddenly rekindled the spark she had in 2016, breaking her own world record in 8:04.12. She showed the swim wasn’t a fluke by following it up with an 8:05.76 at U.S. Nationals.
Ledecky seemingly burst open a dam, as this week, Summer McIntosh and Lani Pallister both advanced as the #2 and #3 performers of all time with four-plus-second personal bests. McIntosh hit 8:05.07 at Canadian Trials, while Pallister turned in an 8:10.84 at Australian Trials.
Ledecky is a symbol of persistence who challenges the swimming world to reach her heights. Despite our freestyle GOAT’s signature metronomic consistency, however, she couldn’t swim identically as a 28-year-old to how she swam at 19, right?
Looking at stroke count comparisons of her world-record swims this year and in 2016, the answer is yes, her race is swum differently now – but not by much. Despite going a best time this year, Ledecky’s stroke efficiency decreased compared to her 19-year-old self. She took 651 strokes to break the world record this year, while in 2016 she took 641 strokes en route to her 8:04.68.
A 10-stroke difference seems minimal, though, when comparing Ledecky’s swims to her closest rival, McIntosh. The Canadian took around 606 strokes* to reach her 8:05.07 Canadian Record, significantly less than Ledecky. McIntosh’s stroke efficiency is much higher despite being four inches shorter than Ledecky, and despite Ledecky having above-average underwaters for a distance swimmer. The American more than makes up for this DPS gap with an unrivaled tempo. This goes to show there’s more than one way to skin a cat.
800 Free Stroke Counts
McIntosh, 2025 Canadian Trials Ledecky, 2025 Fort Lauderdale Ledecky, 2016 Rio De Janeiro 50 32 36 36 100 36-38* 41 41 150 37 41 40 200 37 40 41 250 38 40 40 300 38 40 40 350 39 40 40 400 37 40 40 450 38 41 40 500 39 41 40 550 39 42 40 600 39 42 40 650 39 42 40 700 38 42 41 750 39 42 40 800 40 41 42 Total 605-607 651 641 Average 37.9 40.7 40.1
*McIntosh leaves frame for a few seconds during the second 50 of her 800 in the only full video of McIntosh’s race. This stroke count is an estimate.
Watch all three races below:
Read the full story on SwimSwam: How Do Ledecky and McIntosh Swim The 800? Stroke Count Analysis
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