World record holder Katie Ledecky broke the Championships record to win gold in the women's 400m freestyle at the World Swimming Championships in Kazan this afternoon.
The American pulled away from her rivals in the second half of the race to post a time of 3:59.13, finishing almost four seconds ahead of silver-medallist Sharon van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands.
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Australia's Jessica Ashwood held on the secure the bronze, narrowly beating Great Britain's Jazz Carlin, who finished just 0.4 seconds off a spot on the podium.
New Zealand's Lauren Boyle, who beat Carlin to the gold medal in the 400m at the Commonwealth Games last year, finished fifth.
