KAZAN, Russia -- Stanford signee Katie Ledecky set a World Championship record Sunday in the 400-meter freestyle to win the event on the first night of swimming competition at the 2015 FINA World Championships. Ledecky's 3:59.13 was .76 off her own world record set last summer.
Ledecky was under world-record pace for the first 300 meters of the race before falling back in the final 100. She still cruised to the world title, beating Sharon Van Rouwendaal (4:03.02) of the Netherlands by nearly four seconds. Australia's Jessica Ashwood claimed bronze in 4:03.34.
Ledecky, who has deferred her enrollment at Stanford to train for the 2016 Olympic Games, has won two straight world championships in the 400 free. Her gold at the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona marked the first time an American won this event at Worlds since Janet Evans, another Stanford product, in 1991.
There are still three individual events left on Ledecky's slate. She will swim the 200-, 800- and 1,500-meter freestyles.
Stanford swimmers Lia Neal and Simone Manuel also picked up medals Sunday, helping Team USA to bronze in the 400-meter freestyle relay. Missy Franklin (53.68) and Margo Geer (54.14) accompanied Neal (53.70) and Manuel (53.09) on the relay squad (3:34.61). Australia (3:31.48) and Netherlands (3:33.67) went 1-2.
Maya DiRado '14 qualified fourth in the 200-meter IM with a semifinal time of 2:09.82. The mark is a new lifetime best for DiRado, who will swim in the final tomorrow.
