By Terin Frodyma on SwimSwam
See all of our 2025 Swammy Awards here.
In the past year, deciding the top U.S. female swimmer has become increasingly challenging, with numerous defining moments from several domestic talents in the sport. Gretchen Walsh, Kate Douglass, and Katie Ledecky each made compelling cases throughout the year, each with campaigns that can be justified as reasons they should win. Still, a winner must be crowned, and this year’s Swammy Award ultimately goes to Katie Ledecky for one of the most remarkable seasons in her illustrious career.
A deciding factor among the three finalists for this Swammy award was that Ledecky was the only swimmer to win three individual World Championship medals, while also being one of the two to break a long-course World Record in 2025.
Ledecky reaffirmed her widely regarded “Greatest of All Time” status back in May in Fort Lauderdale at the Pro Swim Series (LCM) to kick off her 2025 campaign. Breaking her own World Record in the 800 freestyle in a blistering 8:04.12, clipping her 2016 record time of 8:04.79, a standard she set at 19 years old, and broke at 28 in front of an electric Fort Lauderdale audience.
“I can’t stop smiling, it’s been like that all week, though, so it’s not really new. It’s been so many years in the making to do it tonight. It’s been an incredible night. There is always a story to each world record that I set,” Ledecky told USA Swimming following her race. I flipped at the 750, and it was loud in here, and I just told myself I’m not letting this opportunity go to waste and started sprinting,”
Ledecky showed to be in world-record form throughout most of the race, opening her first 400 in 3:58.22, which at the time would have slotted her 4th all-time in the individual 400 free. Ledecky exited the pool with visible emotion on her face.
Beyond just the World Record, Ledecky notched her 2nd fastest times in the 400 free (3:56.81) and the 1500 free (15:24.51) in Fort Lauderdale, kicking off her 2025 season in speedy fashion.
The momentum of that level was easy to carry over to the US National Championships in Indianapolis in June. Ledecky cruised to a trio of wins in the 400 free (3:58.56), 800 free (8:05.76), and the 1500 free (15:36.76). Ledecky also added a silver medal finish in the 200 free in 1:55.26, to earn her a return to the American women’s 4×200 free relay.
Then came the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore (LCM), where Ledecky was set to take on the increasingly deep talent throughout the women’s mid-distance and distance freestyle events. On the opening night, Ledecky finished 3rd in the 400 free in 3:58.49 behind rising Canadian superstar Summer McIntosh and China’s Li Bingjie. That finish would come to be her lowest of the entire meet.
Ledecky’s next test came in the 1500 freestyle, an event that she has been untouchable in throughout her stellar career. Ledecky dominated the field, temporarily spooking her own 2018 World Record as she was under that pace through the first 1050 meters. She ultimately put down the 5th fastest 1500 freestyle in history in 15:26.44, just over five seconds ahead of Italy’s Simona Quadrella (15:31.76).
Ledecky then anchored the American 4×200 free relay in 1:53.71, helping secure a relay silver for Team USA.
All roads led to the 800 freestyle final; Ledecky, McIntosh, and Lani Pallister headlined the event and delivered a spectacle of swimming. The three of them battled, with nobody fully separating themselves throughout the 16 laps. McIntosh held the head-to-head lead in Singapore, having beaten Ledecky just days earlier in the 400 free, even turning first at the 700-meter wall. Ledecky could not be counted out, clocking 30.24 to put her back in front, and closing in 29.53 to touch the wall first in a championship record effort of 8:05.62, just over three tenths of a second ahead of Pallister (8:05.98). Pallister surged home in 29.11 to overtake McIntosh and nearly catch the Olympic Champion Ledecky.
The win for Ledecky marked her 7th consecutive world title in the 800 free (excluding 2024’s event). Ledecky now owns 23 career long-course World Championship titles.
Ledecky closed out her year in a similar way that she started it, in record-setting fashion. At the inaugural Katie Ledecky Invitational (SCY), Ledecky herself only raced one event, the 1650 free, where she threw down the fastest time in history in 14:59.62, the first woman to ever break the 15-minute time barrier, lowering her own top time of 15:01.41 from March of 2023.
Ledecky was never too far off the record, but hadn’t officially turned under her record time until the 1300-yard mark. Ledecky continued to build through the last 350 yards, ultimately stopping the clock just under two seconds faster than her previous record time.
Honorable Mentions:
- Gretchen Walsh: Walsh’s success in 2025 spans every pool, from yards to meters, and she found the highest level of success both domestically and internationally. She broke numerous barriers in the sport, including being the first woman to swim sub-45 in the 100-yard freestyle (44.71), the first woman to swim sub-47 in the 100 butterfly (46.97), and the first woman under 55 seconds in the long-course 100 fly (54.60). Walsh was awarded the Honda Cup, recognizing the top female collegiate athlete across all sports. She collected a pair of world championship titles (50 fly, 100 fly). She finished 2nd in the overall standings at the World Cup (SCM) (177.3 points), just 0.2 points behind Kate Douglass (177.5), and set the short-course 50 fly World record in 23.72 in the process.
- Kate Douglass: Douglass defended her 200 breast Olympic title in Singapore, further cementing herself as one of the best to do it in the event; setting an American, and Championship record in her gold medal effort 2:18.50. She also added a 100 breaststroke silver in 1:05.27, and acted as a key piece to three medal winning U.S. relays, including her 1:04.27 split on the world record 4×100 medley relay stands as the 5th fastest split in history. Her short-course showings further elevated her case for this award. Most notably, breaking the 100 free World Record twice on the final stop in Toronto, and becoming the first sub-50 performer in the event’s history in a groundbreaking 49.93. Douglass went on to finish atop the individual standings in 177.5 points, collecting $182,000 over the three-week World Cup.
Previous Winners:
- 2024 – Gretchen Walsh
- 2023 – Kate Douglass
- 2022 – Katie Ledecky
- 2021 – Katie Ledecky
- 2020 – Lilly King
- 2019 – Simone Manuel
- 2018 – Katie Ledecky
- 2017 – Katie Ledecky
- 2016 – Katie Ledecky
- 2015 – Katie Ledecky
- 2014 – Katie Ledecky
- 2013 – Katie Ledecky
Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2025 Swammy Awards: U.S. Female Swimmer of the Year – Katie Ledecky
