Will Ledecky’s throne in the women’s 800m freestyle be challenged?

2024 Summer Olympics in Paris

In numbers: Women’s 800 m freestyle

Continuation of her reign

Katie Ledecky has been the queen of the 800 m freestyle for over a decade and since her Olympic debut in the discipline in 2012, few competitors have come close to dethroning her.

In addition to being a three-time Olympic champion in the event, Ledecky is also a six-time world champion in the 800m and the only swimmer to have won the same event at six consecutive world championships. Aside from her impressive medal haul, Ledecky holds the 16 fastest times of all time and 24 of the 25 best times, and until February of this year she was unbeaten in the event since 2010.

Katie Ledecky – courtesy of Simone Castrovillari

While Ledecky suffered her first defeat in the 800-meter race in over a decade against the Canadian, Summer McIntosh at the Southern Zone Senior Championships earlier this year, which dropped her to No. 2 in the world rankings for 2024, she remains the strongest contender at the Olympics. McIntosh did not compete in the 800m freestyle at the Canadian Swimming Trials, meaning Ledecky goes into the Games with the fastest time in the field.

Since her second-place finish to McIntosh, Ledecky has improved her season-best to 8:12.95, just half a second slower than the time she used to win the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. She posted a time of 8:14.12 at the trials in June, but Ledecky has lost time in this event before between the trials and the Games; she doesn’t usually have to swim too fast at the U.S. Olympic trials to qualify.

Ledecky’s previous Olympic time drops

Ledecky will no doubt be looking to defend her Olympic title and keep her crown as queen of the 800, and without McIntosh, she seems to be in a good position to do just that.

The threat from Down Under

Australia’s Ariarne Titmus will likely be one of the biggest contenders for gold in Paris. At the Tokyo Olympics, she finished second behind Ledecky, finishing less than half a second behind her with a time of 8:13.83, and has been a fixture in the world rankings ever since.

Ariarne Titmus –
courtesy of Fabio Cetti

Titmus has also been remarkably consistent in swimming each year, with her best performances in the 800m coming in July or August. She improved her personal best to 8:13.59 at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, only to repeat the exact same time a year later at the World Championships in Japan.

In 2023, Titmus was ranked No. 3 in the world behind China’s Bingjie Li and Ledecky. This year, while she is still ranked No. 3, she has overtaken Li and is now only ahead of Ledecky and McIntosh. With McIntosh no longer eligible for the 800m at the Olympics, Titmus may have an even better chance of winning an Olympic title in that event.

At the Australian Swimming Qualifiers in June, Titmus narrowly missed her personal best, winning the 800m in a season’s best of 8:14.06. She was clearly on top form at the meet, as she also broke the world record in the 200m freestyle. It remains to be seen whether this form will continue into the Olympics themselves, but Titmus is certainly a top contender for the podium and possibly even gold.

Striving for the podium

While few swimmers can match Ledecky and Titmus’s years of consistent dominance in the 800-meter race, there is no shortage of competitors vying for a spot on the podium and an Olympic medal.

Simona Quadarella – Courtesy of Len European Aquatics

One of the top contenders for a podium place will probably be Simona QuadarellaThe Italian star will compete in the 800m freestyle at her second consecutive Olympics, having won bronze in the event in 2021. Quadarella has worked her way up the world rankings over the past three years, setting her season’s best of 8:17.44 ahead of Paris, behind only Titmus and Ledecky. Quadarella posted the best time when she took home gold at the World Championships in February

Quadarella hasn’t been able to match her personal best of 8:14.99 since 2019, but her season’s best this year is slightly faster than the one she set in the final in Tokyo, meaning if she can keep that time consistent, she should secure a good position for the final.

Second representative of the US team Paige Madden will be one to watch in Paris. Madden was able to significantly improve her time at the US Olympic Qualifiers, improving her PB by nearly seven seconds to 8:20.71. The performance moved her up to No. 7 in the world rankings for the 2024 season and showed a huge improvement from just six months ago when she set her previous PB.

However, as she was clearly at her peak to qualify for the Olympics, it will be difficult to repeat that feat with just over a month in between. Provided Madden stays consistent, she should make it to the finals; if she can continue to build on her recent improvements, she may be able to target the podium.

Australia’s Lani Pallister will also be fighting for the podium. Paris will be Pallister’s Olympic debut as she failed to qualify in 2021, but she is ready to compete with all the veterans at the heart of the competition.

Her performances in the 800m freestyle have improved over the past year. In October, she improved her personal best twice in quick succession to 8:15.11. This performance makes her the fourth fastest person in the world in 2023 and the eighth best swimmer of all time.

Pallister clocked 8:18.46 to finish second to Titmus at the Australian swimming qualifiers, almost 12 seconds faster than the third-place finisher and easily qualified for the Olympics. The clear qualification bodes well for her debut in Paris, where she is preparing for the Games.

Threats to the final

Returning Chinese Olympian Li Bingjie will try to make her Olympic breakthrough in the 800m freestyle. Bingjie secured a bronze medal in the 400m freestyle at the Tokyo Games, but missed the final in the 800m swim, finishing 10th with a time of 8:22.49.

Bingjie has improved her time significantly since then, setting a personal best of 8:13.31 at last summer’s World Championships, finishing second behind Ledecky. Her recent performances have dipped somewhat, however; Bingjie hasn’t swum under 8:20 since last July, and posted a time of 8:25.43 at the Chinese National Swimming Championships. Currently ranked 13th in the world, Bingjie could be in the Olympic final this year, but will need to get closer to her personal best again to secure a spot.

Germany’s Isabel Gose narrowly missed the Olympic final in the 800m swim in Tokyo, finishing 9th overall. The 22-year-old Olympic returnee will look to rectify that this summer, having significantly improved her 800m freestyle since the last Games. In February, Gose finished second in the event at the World Championships, posting a personal best of 8:17.53, which is over four seconds faster than her performance in Tokyo.

Although her performance in Doha was the fifth fastest time in 2024, Gose’s times in the 800m often go up and down, with each peak swim followed by a drop in performance. In her last race in May, Gose clocked a time of 8:23.35, which shows a drop in performance. Gose will need to rediscover her World Championships form to secure a place in the final at these Olympics.

Erika Fairweather – courtesy of Simon Watts/www.bwmedia.co.nz

New Zealand could send two swimmers to the final of the 800 m freestyle. The 20-year-old Erika Fairweather will compete in her second Olympic Games, although this will be her first time competing in the 800m at Olympic level. Fairweather set her personal best of 8:21.06 at the 2023 World Championships, where she finished 8th overall; she took a bronze medal in the event at the 2024 Championships in Doha. Fairweather has been remarkably consistent, hovering around her best in each of the four races since she set her own. Fairweather posted the seventh fastest time in the world in 2023 and holds the ninth fastest time so far in 2024 (8:21.67).

New Zealand’s other Olympian is Eve Thomaswho finished 18th in the 800m in Tokyo. Thomas has since improved her time by over 10 seconds, setting a personal best of 8:22.27 just a few months ago in April. Thomas finished fourth behind Fairweather at the World Championships in Doha and is currently ranked 10th in the world rankings for 2024. She has steadily climbed the world rankings in recent years, and if she can maintain her recent upward trend, she could make the final in Paris.

Former Russian Olympian becomes French swimmer Anastasia Kirpichnikova will fight for a place in the final in Paris. Kirpichnikova competed for Russia at the Tokyo Games, where she finished 8th in the 800m freestyle with a time of 8:26.30, despite setting a personal best of 8:18.77 in the qualifying heats.

She now competes for France and comfortably won the 800m freestyle at the French Elite Championships, but it remains to be seen if she can secure a place in the final. Kirpichnikova’s season’s best this year is 8:26.38, which is a drop from her best of 8:22.74 last season.

Kirpichnikova has been hovering around 13th and 14th in the world rankings for the past few years since Tokyo, and many of the swimmers ranked ahead of her will be competing in the 800m in Paris. However, she showed an improvement on her recent times at the French Elite Championships, meaning that if she can keep up this momentum and get back into top form for the Olympics, she could fight her way into the final.

The judgment

The 800 freestyle appears to be shaping up to be a battle between Ledecky and Titmus. While it could go either way, Ledecky has proven she is nearly unbeatable in the event and looks poised to bring home another gold medal in the 800. Titmus will certainly be right in her way, but we’ve nominated Ledecky for the top spot based on her dominance in the race so far and her consistent performances.

SwimSwams Recommendations

Insider tip: Gao Weizhong (China) – At just 16 years old, Gao Weizhong has established herself in the distance freestyle and butterfly events. Although the young woman has yet to bring home an international medal, her personal best of 8:25.27 in the 800m freestyle made her No. 15 in the world in 2023. Although Weizhong failed to meet the qualifying time at the Trials, her performance had previously put her under the cut for 2023 and could take the remaining spot in the event behind Bingjie. Weizhong has only run the 800 a handful of times, but if she decides to compete in the event in Paris and can deliver a strong performance, she could be not far from the final.