Katie Ledecky added a third race to her Olympic schedule, cruising to a nearly 10-second victory in the 800-meter freestyle at the U.S. swimming trials Saturday night.
One night after competing in the 100 free, the 19-year-old Ledecky didn't have quite enough in the tank to challenge her own world record. She finished in 8 minutes, 10.32 seconds, far off the mark of 8:06.68 she set in January at a meet in Austin, Texas.
Still, it was another dominating performance by a swimmer who surprisingly captured gold in the 800 free four years ago, but will go into Rio as one of the biggest favorites in any sport. Leah Smith took the second Olympics spot in 8:20.18 — nearly half a lap behind Ledecky.
Ledecky also posted wins in the 200 and 400 free at the trials in Omaha, Nebraska, which means she'll have three individual events and a relay at the Olympics. The only thing that didn't go her way: a seventh-place finish in the 100 free, an event she only recently started focusing on in hopes of landing a second relay race.
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She'll be busy enough as it is.
