Katie Ledecky has had her share of dominance during the Paris Olympics. When she entered the pool in the 1500 m freestyle finals, it was not only the gold that slid down her neck for touching the wall in 15:30.02, but also the Olympic record, breaking her previous one from the Tokyo Olympics. And then there was the 800m. She powered through that in 8:11.04, holding off Ariarne Titmus (silver in 8:12.29) to secure her ninth Olympic gold and four-peat in her signature event, becoming the first female swimmer in history to win the same individual event at four consecutive Olympic Games. But it wasn’t all gold for her-

She earned bronze in the 400 m freestyle, placing behind Titmus and Summer McIntosh, her first Olympic bronze and a rare third-place finish for the distance queen. As part of Team USA’s 4×200 m freestyle relay, she delivered on the third leg and helped her squad to silver in 7:40.86, bringing her total Olympic medal count to 14 medals, making her the most decorated American female swimmer in Olympic history. But the 400m must have hurt, and now, as history repeats in the 2025 Worlds, Championship chances dip.

The 2025 World Aquatics Championships are being held in Singapore from July 11 to August 3, 2025, at the World Aquatics Championships Arena in the Singapore Sports Hub, Kallang. Now, as Lani Pallister, Claire Weinstein, Isabel Gose, etc. stood alongside Summer McIntosh, Katie Ledecky, and Li Bingjie for the Women’s 400 m Freestyle Final, the headlines that followed the event are not only saddening for the USA but also worrying for Katie’s further chances. In one of the most talked-about showdowns of the swimming season, Summer McIntosh delivered a stunning performance to beat Katie Ledecky in the 400-meter freestyle on the opening night of the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.

McIntosh took control in the second half of the race and powered to the wall in 3:56.26. But what truly stung for Ledecky wasn’t just losing gold—it was getting edged out for silver by China’s Li Bingjie, who surged past both Ledecky and Australia’s Lani Pallister in the final metres to touch in 3:58.21. Olympic champion Ledecky, long the queen of distance freestyle, had to settle for bronze with 3:58.49, a rare and humbling moment that underscored how fierce the global competition has become. Cody Miller uploaded this on his story, writing, “Summer rules Ledecky’s 27th Medal This was b——.”

Now the women’s 800 m freestyle at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore is scheduled for Saturday, August 2. This race, a long‑promised rematch between Katie Ledecky and Summer McIntosh, is widely anticipated as one of the defining moments of the meet. But Ledecky’s loss to China’s Li Bingjie is worrying. If she wins the 800m freestyle on August 2, then it would be her fourth consecutive world championship title in that event after 2017, 2019, and 2022, and she has been pretty good in the 2025 season.

Katie Ledecky dived in hot

Katie Ledecky has been like a torpedo in the water for the 2025 season. At the TYR Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale in early May, she claimed back her throne as she touched the wall in a time of 8:04.12 in the 800m. You know what that means? Surpassing her old mark of 8:04.79 from the 2016 Rio Olympics and marking her first world record since 2018. And before that, she swam a 15:24.51 in the 1500 m, the second‑fastest time ever for the women’s category in the distance and her fastest since her 2018 world-record swim, finishing nearly 40 seconds ahead of the field.

She also recorded a 3:56.81 in the 400 m free, her fastest performance since Rio 2016, and the second‑fastest of her career. It marked the fastest time ever in an American pool and the seventh-fastest time in history by any woman in any pool. At the 2025 U.S. Swimming Championships in Indianapolis (June 3–7), Ledecky swept the women’s distance events. She won the 400 m freestyle in 3:58.56, secured the 800 m freestyle in 8:05.76 (a meet record), and capped the week with the 1500 m in 15:36.76, cruising to her third national title of the meet.

Now, if only she could clinch the 800m title at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships. What do you think? Can she do it?