Only the greatest of all time beats furious Quadarella

American Katie Ledecky remains the dominant figure in the women's swimming scene. On Tuesday, the 28-year-old won her 22nd gold medal at a world championship in Singapore.

July 29, 2025

From: leo

Ledecky won the 1.500 m freestyle in 15:26,44 minutes, claiming her 17th gold medal in an individual discipline and her 22nd overall. Italian Simona Quadarella not only secured silver but also set a new European record with a time of 15:31,79 minutes. The 26-year-old was 7,09 seconds faster than Denmark's Lotte Friis did twelve years ago. The Roman athlete beat her personal best by nine seconds.

"I never thought I'd be this fast. I've dreamed of the European record for years, and now it's here," said Quadarella, who has now won eight medals at the World Championships.

Further opportunities for gold

This time is surprising, given that the Italian seemed to be on the decline after a disappointing Olympic Games last year, where she finished without a medal. Now Quadarella proved her critics wrong and delivered the best race of her career. Third place went to Australian Lana Pallister, who was already ten seconds behind Quadarella.

The podium with Simona Quadarella, Katie Ledecky, and Lana Pallister. © APA/afp / OLI SCARFF

A little later, Thomas Ceccon another Azzurro Silver. Curiously, Italy has already won 15 medals at the World Swimming Championships in Singapore – but none of them are gold. That should change in the coming days, when Quadarella and his team will have further opportunities to win medals.

Keywords Watersports Swimming World Cup swimming Simona Quadarella Katie ledecky