Down goes Ledecky! American suffers shock defeat in the pool

American swimming champion Katie Ledecky hasn’t lost a race in her home country for nearly a decade, but as the saying goes, records are made to be broken.

At a Pro Series swim meet in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Ledecky saw her winning streak come to an end. Summer McIntosh beat Ledecky in the 200m freestyle by .83 seconds with a time of 1:54.13.

The 16-year-old Canadian is no stranger to the big stage. She competed at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics at age 14, the youngest member of the Canadian national team. She also set a new junior world record in the 200m butterfly.

“She’s an amazing racer and I’ve always looked up to her,” said McIntosh after her win. “She’s the greatest freestyler of all time, and to be able to race her is always an amazing experience and I’ve always learned so much.”

The last time Ledecky lost a freestyle long course race of 200m or more in the U.S. was in 2014 when she lost to fellow American Allison Schmitt.

Could this event mark a change in the sport’s hierarchy or was it just a one-off?

Ledecky has seven Olympic gold medals as well as 19 World Championship golds. She excels in the longer freestyle races and has Olympic gold in the past three 800m freestyle events.

At the 2022 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Ledecky won gold in the 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyles, as well as the 4x200m freestyle relay. McIntosh took silver in the 400m freestyle race. The Canadian teenager picked up gold in the 200m butterfly and 400m individual medley.

She will surely be a strong favorite in Paris 2024, while Ledecky has yet to confirm her schedule for next year’s Summer Olympics.