Ledecky is the current world leader in three distances, but this marks her first world record since the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Wednesday’s second-place finisher was 17-year-old Erica Sullivan, who finished in 16:09.88, a full 49 seconds behind Ledecky. — Nick Zaccardi (@nzaccardi) May 16, 2018Aside from the world record — the 14th time the 21-year-old Ledecky has set one — Wednesday’s win is particularly noteworthy for a couple of reasons. She won five gold medals at last year’s world championships, but for the first time at a major international meet, she failed to break any records or set a single personal-best mark. A performance such as Wednesday’s will only serve to remind potential sponsors what she is capable of heading into next summer’s world championships and the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Source: Washington Post May 16, 2018 23:42 UTC