Katie Ledecky swam the second-fastest 200m freestyle of her life. Caeleb Dressel, in one of his non-primary events, beat the top-ranked American. And a 17-year-old Alaskan rocketed into the Olympic discussion.
The first set of events at a Pro Series stop in Mission Viejo, California, generated the most buzz of any one day of a professional swim meet in the U.S. so far in 2021. The Olympic Trials, where the top two per individual event are in line to go to Tokyo, are in two months.
Start with Ledecky, who won Friday’s opening race, the 200m free, in 1:54.