KAZAN, Russia (AP) — Katie Ledecky won the 200-meter freestyle at the world swimming championships Wednesday night against a stellar field that included defending champion Missy Franklin and two-time winner Federica Pellegrini.
The 18-year-old American rallied from fourth after the first two laps to touch first in 1 minute, 55.16 seconds for her second gold medal of the championships. Ledecky already won the 1,500 free, lowering her own world record in the preliminaries and final.
Pellegrini finished second in 1:55.32, and Franklin was third in 1:55.49.
Femke Heemskerk of the Netherlands took it out strongly, dipping under world-record pace on the opening lap.