Katie Ledecky loses a home 400-meter freestyle race for the first time in 11 years
Katie Ledecky looks on before the Women's 400 Meter Freestyle Prelims on day 2 of the Toyota US Open on November 30, 2023 at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, North Carolina. Credit: Getty Images
GREENSBORO, N.C. — For the first time in 11 years, Katie Ledecky has lost a 400-meter freestyle race in an American pool.
Canadian teenager Summer McIntosh took the title at the U.S. Open championships in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Thursday, beating Ledecky by nearly 3 seconds.
McIntosh took the title in a meet record of 3 minutes, 59.42 seconds, while Ledecky touched next in 4:02.38.
Ledecky’s last loss in the 400 free in her home country was at the 2012 U.S. Olympic trials, when she placed third at age 15.
Last March, the 17-year-old McIntosh also snapped Ledecky’s nine-year U.S. win streak in the 200 free.
The significance of McIntosh's latest victory is difficult to gauge, since swimmers are at different stages of their training cycles as they ramp up preparations for next year's Paris Olympics.
McIntosh held the 400 free world record for three months before it was reclaimed by Australia's Ariarne Titmus with a winning time of 3:55.38 at this summer's world championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
Ledecky was runner-up at worlds, while McIntosh struggled to a fourth-place finish.
Titmus is also the reigning Olympic champion in the 400 free. Ledecky took gold in the event at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.
