Katie Ledecky wins women's 400m freestyle in world record time
Triumphant 17-year-old adds new mark to her 800m and 1,500m times - the first swimmer to hold all three since Janet Evans
Katie Ledecky swam a "pretty close to perfect" race to seize the 400m freestyle world record at the US National Championships.
The 17-year-old schoolgirl powered to victory in a dazzling three minutes, 58.86 seconds, eclipsing the prior world mark of 3:59.15 set by Italy's Federica Pellegrini in 2009 in the era of now-banned hi-tech bodysuits.
Just pure excitement ... It never gets old to break world records. It's still really exciting for me
It was Ledecky's third triumph in three races at these championships. She adds the 400m world record to her 800m and 1,500m free world marks to make her the first woman since Janet Evans to hold all three at the same time.
"Just pure excitement," said Ledecky who tossed her cap and pounded the water in celebration when she saw her time.
"It never gets old to break world records," she said. "It's still really exciting for me."
However, Ledecky said she did not go out with the aim of matching Evans, who held the 400m, 800m and 1,500m free world records simultaneously from 1988 to 2006.