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Katie Ledecky had to wait at the finish line for 97 seconds before the last-place swimmer finished a World Championships race

Katie Ledecky has resumed her world dominance over the freestyle at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Ledecky, who became a breakout star at the Rio Olympics by taking home four golds and a silver, made a mockery of the field in the 1,500-meter freestyle heats, an event in which she already held the world record.

On Monday, Ledecky swam 15:47.54 in the 1,500 beating the second-place finisher by 17 seconds and the last-place swimmer by 97 seconds.

According to Nick Zaccardi of Olympic Talk, it was only the ninth-fastest time of Ledecky's career — 22 seconds off her world record — but still 13 seconds faster than any other woman had swum this year.

The rest of the field was, well, missing when Ledecky finished:

ledecky 1
ledecky 1

NBC/FINA

Lest you thought she would be tired after the race, she did not appear to be. "I don't think she took a hard stroke in that whole race," remarked on the analysts.

katie ledecky
katie ledecky

NBC/FINA

And after 17 seconds, once the second-place finisher touched the wall, Ledecky still had some time to wait.

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ledecky_3

NBC/FINA

Thus far, Ledecky has taken home two golds, setting the stage to tie the women's record with six golds in a single World Championships. She's the favorite in her remaining events.

Ledecky won the 400-meter freestyle in the second-fastest time in history, giving her the nine-fastest times in event history. Later, she received some help in the 4x100 relay, actually swimming the slowest leg of the U.S. women's quarter. However, lead-off swimmer Mallory Comerford set an American 100-meter free record, giving the team a bit of a boost.

As Ledecky has proven time and again, the longer the race, the more separation she gets. Her 97-second win was the longest of her career at an international meet, according to Zaccardi, thus only strengthening her hold as the world's most dominant athlete.

Watch Ledecky's 1,500-meter finish below:

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