Ledecky, Sullivan Top Podium in First Olympic Women’s 1500 Freestyle | SwimSwam

By Nicole Miller on SwimSwam

2020 TOKYO SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES

• When: Pool swimming: Saturday, July 24 – Sunday, August 1, 2021
  • Open Water swimming: Wednesday, August 4 – Thursday, August 5, 2021
• Where: Olympic Aquatics Centre / Tokyo, Japan
• Heats: 7 PM / Semifinals & Finals: 10:30 AM (Local time)
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The Olympics have officially seen their first podium in the women’s 1500 freestyle, with American Katie Ledecky un-surprisingly on top.

In a less-likely turn of events, Ledecky’s American teammate Erica Sullivan ran down the field to touch second in her first Olympic Games. Sullivan, only 20-years-old, obliterated her personal best of 15:46.67 that she set in the prelims to finish in a time of 15:41.41. 

Behind Sullivan, German Sarah Kohler also set a personal best and German National record to win the bronze medal in a time of 15:42.91. 

With their performances, Sullivan and Kohler move up to 5th and 7th on the all-time performers list, respectively. 

Top-10 All-Time Performers: Women’s 1500 Freestyle

1. Katie Ledecky: 15:20.48 (2018)
2. Lotte Friis: 15:38.88 (2013)
3. Lauren Boyle: 15:40.14 (2015)
4. Simona Quadarella: 15:40.89 (2019)
5. Erica Sullivan: 15:41.41 (2021)
6. Jianjiahe Wang: 15:41.49 (2021)
7. Kate Zeigler: 15:42.54 (2007)
8. Sarah Kohler: 15:42.91 (2021)
9. Alessia Filippi: 15:44.93 (2009)
10. Maddy Gough: 15:46.13. (2021)

The podium marks the first-ever Olympic podium in the event, which was just introduced into the Olympic line-up. 

Ledecky, the world record holder, took out the race fast, splitting 4:06.98 over the first 400 meters. However, she was never alone as China’s Jianjiahe Wang, Italy’s Simona Quadarella, and Germany’s Kohler were nipping right at her heels. 

Gradually, Ledecky pulled away from the field, giving herself a 3.5 second lead. At the same time, Wang, Quadarella, and Kohler were all locked in a tight battle for second. Then, around the 1000m mark, Sullivan began to creep up on the field as Wang and Quadarella fell-off the pace. Overtaking them, Sullivan found herself in a race for silver with Kohler.

When all was said-and-done, Ledecky charged into the wall to win her first gold medal of these Olympic Games in a time of 15:37.34. Sullivan managed to hold off Kohler for second, earning her first medal from an major international competition in the process.

First Time Olympic Swimming Champions Throughout History

By country:

• United States – 19
• Great Britain – 6
• Germany/East Germany – 3
• Australia/Australasia – 2
• Hungary – 1
• Netherlands – 1
• Yugoslavia – 1

Active Olympic pool events:

Women:

Event	Year	Swimmer	Country
50m freestyle	1988 Seoul	Kristin Otto	East Germany
100m freestyle	1912 Stockholm	Fanny Durack	Australasia
200m freestyle	1968 Mexico City	Debbie Meyer	United States
400m freestyle	1924 Paris	Martha Norelius	United States
800m freestyle	1968 Mexico City	Debbie Meyer	United States
1500m freestyle	2020 Tokyo	Katie Ledecky	United States
100m backstroke	1924 Paris	Sybil Bauer	United States
200m backstroke	1968 Mexico City	Lillian Watson	United States
100m breaststroke	1968 Mexico City	Durdica Bjedov	Yugoslavia
200m breaststroke	1925 Paris	Lucy Morton	Great Britain
100m butterfly	1956 Melbourne	Shelley Mann	United States
200m butterfly	1968 Mexico City	Ada Kok	Netherlands
200m IM	1968 Mexico City	Claudia Kolb	United States
400m IM	1964 Tokyo	Donna de Varona	United States
400 free relay	1912 Stockholm	Great Britain	Great Britain
800 free relay	1996 Atlanta	United States	United States
400 medley relay	1960 Rome	United States	United States

Men:

Event	Year	Swimmer	Country
50m freestyle	1988 Seoul	Matt Biondi	United States
100m freestyle	1896 Athens	Alfred Hajos	Hungary
200m freestyle	1900 Paris	Frederick Lane	Australia
400m freestyle	1908 London	Henry Taylor	Great Britain
1500m freestyle	1908 London	Henry Taylor	Great Britain
100m backstroke	1908 London	Arno Bieberstein	Germany
200m backstroke	1900 Paris	Ernst Hoppenberg	Germany
100m breaststroke	1968 Mexico City	Don McKenzie	United States
200m breaststroke	1908 London	Frederick Holman	Great Britain
100m butterfly	1968 Mexico City	Doug Russell	United States
200m butterfly	1956 Melbourne	Bill Yorzyk	United States
200m IM	1968 Mexico City	Charlie Hickcox	United States
400m IM	1964 Tokyo	Dick Roth	United States
400 free relay	1964 Tokyo	United States	United States
800 free relay	1908 London	Great Britain	Great Britain
400 medley relay	1960 Rome	United States	United States

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