Swimming: Ledecky shines and sets the 2nd best time in history in the 1,500m in Fort Lauderdale

American swimming star Katie Ledecky clocked the second-fastest time in history in the 1,500m freestyle, clocking 15:24.51 on Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, near Miami.

At the Tyr Pro Swim Series meeting in Florida, Ledecky, 28, came within just over four seconds of her world record of 15:20:48 in Indianapolis in 2018.

"I'm delighted," Ledecky said. "I've trained very well and I felt good before this competition. It's not the most important meeting of the year, I just wanted (my time) to be the best of the season, which was 15 minutes 36 seconds. I'm very happy."

According to the U.S. Swimming Federation, Ledecky holds the 22 best performances of all time over the distance. The second-best 1,500m swimmer, Denmark's Lotte Friis, clocked 15:38.88 in 2013.

Ledecky has been crowned Olympic champion nine times in four appearances at the Olympic Games, and brought home two more titles from the Paris Games last summer (800 and 1,500 m).

The American has a total of 14 Olympic medals and 26 world medals. She is expected to be one of the stars of the Los Angeles Games in 2028.

The Fort Lauderdale meet brings together several of the world's best swimmers from Wednesday to Saturday, including French hero of the Paris Games, Léon Marchand, expected in the 400m freestyle on Thursday, his first race in four months.