The 5 Oldest Short-Course World Records: Katie Ledecky Owns 1500 Freestyle (Women’s Edition)
While the Asian Games in Tokyo remain on the year’s long-course schedule, much of the rest of the year will be focused on short-course competition, beginning with the World Cup series along the Silk Road. A visit to Baku, Azerbaijan (Oct. 1-3) will jumpstart the World Cup, with stops following in Tashkent, Uzbekistan (Oct. 8-10) and Astana, Kazakhstan (Oct. 15-17). Six weeks later, the World Short Course Championships will unfold at the famed Water Cube in Beijing, the site of the 2008 Olympic Games.
For the first time, USA Swimming will conduct a short-course trials competition for the World Champs, that meet slated for Oct. 28-31 at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont, Illinois. Between the international meets and the U.S. Trials, there is a good chance of seeing world-record performances.
Here is a look at the five oldest individual women’s short-course world records. Compared to the men’s list, there are fewer longstanding marks on the women’s side.
1. Ruta Meilutyte (100 Breaststroke: 1:02.36) – Oct. 12, 2013
- Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutyte set the world record in the 100 breaststroke during 2013 World Cup action in Moscow, and while it was equaled on two occasions by Jamaica’s Alia Atkinson (2014/2016), Meilutyte still owns a piece of the standard. The top contender to break the record is China’s Tang Qianting, who came within .01 at the 2024 World Championships and continues to show fine form.
2. Katie Ledecky (1500 Freestyle: 15:08.24) – Oct. 29, 2022
- At the Toronto stop of the 2022 World Cup, Katie Ledecky – as expected – corralled the world record in the 1500 freestyle. Ledecky hasn’t frequently raced in short-course meters, but her dominance in the 1500 free suggested she would break the world record. Last year, Australian Lani Pallister got within six seconds of the mark, as she checked in with a swim of 15:13.83.
3. Ruta Meilutyte (50 Breaststroke: 28.37) – Dec. 17, 2022
- Olympic and world champion Ruta Meilutyte makes her second appearance on this list, this time in the 50 breaststroke. Meilutyte posted her time in the semifinals of the 2022 World Championships in Melbourne and no active swimmer has been within .40 in the four years since. China’s Tang Qianting is the closest pursuer, thanks to a career best of 28.76.
4. Summer McIntosh (400 Freestyle: 3:50.25) – Dec. 10, 2024
- At the 2024 World Championships in Budapest, Summer McIntosh scared the 3:50 barrier in the 400 freestyle, delivering a performance that stands more than a second clear of China’s Li Bingjie, the No. 2 performer of all-time at 3:51.30. If McIntosh opts to attack any short-course competitions during the latter portion of 2026, a storyline would be her chase for a 3:49 effort.
5. Kate Douglass (200 Individual Medley: 2:01.63) – Dec. 10, 2024
- December 10, 2024 was a speedy day in the pool. Less than an hour after Summer McIntosh broke the world record in the 400 freestyle at the World Champs, Kate Douglass bettered the global standard in the 200 IM. Douglass is also the short-course world-record holder in the 100 freestyle and 200 breaststroke, showings complemented by multiple world records this summer in the 50 freestyle.
