Katie Ledecky heading to her fourth Olympics, wins 400 freestyle at US swimming trials
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Katie Ledecky is heading to her fourth Olympics, cruising to victory in the 400-meter freestyle at the U.S. swimming trials. Cheered on by a big crowd at the home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, Ledecky finished two body-lengths ahead of the field and touched the wall in 3 minutes, 58.35 seconds. She improved on her time of 3:59.99 in the morning preliminaries and set herself up to make a run at another gold against a loaded field at the Paris Games. The 27-year-old Ledecky is set to swim four events at the trials, all of them freestyle events ranging from 200 to 1,500 meters. She already has six individual gold medals — more than any female swimmer in Olympic history.
Gretchen Walsh sets a world record in the 100-meter butterfly at the U.S. Olympic trials
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Gretchen Walsh set a world record in the women’s 100-meter butterfly, posting a time of 55.18 seconds in a semifinal heat at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials. Walsh was more than a half-second under world-record pace at the turn and she held for a time that eclipsed the mark of 55.48 set by Sweden’s Sarah Sjöström at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. The 21-year-old Walsh is a native of Tennessee who competes for the University of Virginia. She’ll return for the finals Sunday night looking to claim a spot on her first Olympic team.
