The women's 1500 metre freestyle event at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held in 2021 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. These Games marked the first time to feature women swimming in the pool longer than 800 metres.

Summary U.S. distance swimmer Katie Ledecky won gold in the inaugural Olympic women's 1500-meter freestyle, only an hour and 13 minutes after competing in the 200 m freestyle. The world-record holder in the event, Ledecky led from the start to finish in 15:37.34, almost two seconds off her Olympic record in the heats. Ledecky's teammate Erica Sullivan was not in contention for a podium finish at the halfway mark but surged over the latter half to claim silver in 15:41.41. The American pair's 1-2 finish represented the nation's first and only quinella in swimming events at these Games. While Germany's Sarah Köhler moved through the field after the first 800 m, she could not hold off the late charge from Sullivan, taking bronze one and a half seconds back in a German record of 15:42.91.

China's Wang Jianjiahe was in second place through the 400 but was overtaken by Sullivan and Köhler to place fourth. Italy's 2019 World champion Simona Quadarella could not replicate her performance from those Championships, falling to fifth in 15:53.97. Australians Kiah Melverton (16:00.36) and Maddy Gough (16:05.81) as well as ROC's Anastasia Kirpichnikova (16:00.38) rounded out the finalists.

The medals for the competition were presented by the U.S.' David Haggerty, IOC member, and the gifts were presented by the U.S.' Dale Neuburger, FINA Treasurer.

Records Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

The following records were established during the competition:

Date Event Swimmer Nation Time Record 26 July Heat 5 Katie Ledecky 15:35.35

Qualification

The Olympic Qualifying Time for the event is 16:32.04. Up to two swimmers per National Olympic Committee (NOC) can automatically qualify by swimming that time at an approved qualification event. The Olympic Selection Time is 17:01.80. Up to one swimmer per NOC meeting that time is eligible for selection, allocated by world ranking until the maximum quota for all swimming events is reached. NOCs without a female swimmer qualified in any event can also use their universality place.

Competition format

The competition consists of two rounds: heats and a final. The swimmers with the best 8 times in the heats advance to the final. Swim-offs are used as necessary to break ties for advancement to the next round.

Schedule All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

DateTimeRound 26 July 20:32 Heats 28 July 11:54 Final

Results Heats The swimmers with the top 8 times, regardless of heat, advance to the final.

Rank Heat Lane Name Nationality Time Notes 1 5 4 Katie Ledecky 15:35.35 , 2 5 5 Wang Jianjiahe 15:41.49 , AS 3 4 3 Erica Sullivan 15:46.67 4 4 4 Simona Quadarella 15:47.34 5 4 6 Anastasiya Kirpichnikova 15:50.22 , NR 6 5 3 Sarah Köhler 15:52.67 7 4 5 Maddy Gough 15:56.81 8 5 7 Kiah Melverton 15:58.96 9 5 2 Ajna Késely 15:59.80 10 4 7 Li Bingjie 15:59.92 11 4 1 Merve Tuncel 16:00.51 12 3 6 Viktória Mihályvári-Farkas 16:02.26 13 4 2 Martina Caramignoli 16:02.43 14 5 8 Kristel Köbrich 16:09.09 15 5 1 Mireia Belmonte 16:11.68 16 3 5 Julia Hassler 16:12.55 NR 17 3 1 Deniz Ertan 16:13.22 18 4 8 Jimena Pérez 16:15.99 19 2 4 Marlene Kahler 16:20.05 NR 20 3 3 Viviane Jungblut 16:21.29 21 1 4 Katrina Bellio 16:24.37 22 3 7 Tamila Holub 16:25.16 23 3 2 Diana Durães 16:29.15 24 2 5 Beatriz Dizotti 16:29.37 25 2 6 Helena Rosendahl Bach 16:29.56 26 2 3 Eve Thomas 16:29.66 27 3 4 Celine Rieder 16:32.57 28 2 2 Han Da-kyung 16:33.59 29 5 6 Delfina Pignatiello 16:33.69 30 3 8 Katja Fain 16:35.92 31 2 7 Hayley McIntosh 16:44.43 32 1 5 Arianna Valloni 16:54.64 33 1 3 Sasha Gatt 16:57.47

Final Rank Lane Name Nation Time Notes 4 Katie Ledecky 15:37.34 3 Erica Sullivan 15:41.41 7 Sarah Köhler 15:42.91 NR 4 5 Wang Jianjiahe 15:46.37 5 6 Simona Quadarella 15:53.97 6 8 Kiah Melverton 16:00.36 7 2 Anastasiya Kirpichnikova 16:00.38 8 1 Maddy Gough 16:05.81

See also Swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's 1500 metre freestyle

References