OMAHA — Katie Ledecky was answering questions from reporters after winning the 400-meter freestyle Monday night at the United States Olympic swimming trials when a roar from the warm-down area drowned out her voice. The explosion of noise was for Leah Smith, the second-place finisher, who had arrived to cool down after giving Ledecky a roof-raising race at CenturyLink Center.
Ledecky, 19, had been two seconds ahead of her world-record pace at 200 meters but could not shake Smith, a rising senior at Virginia. Ledecky’s winning time of 3 minutes 58.98 seconds was the third-fastest time in history, her best in two years and 0.