WASHINGTON –Bethesda’s Katie Ledecky beat her own world record in the women’s 400-meter freestyle to win the Pan Pacific championships title in 3 minutes, 58.37 seconds on Saturday.

The Maryland resident set her first record earlier this month at the U.S. nationals.

Ledecky was under world record pace for much of Saturday’s race in an outdoor pool at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre in Australia, and finished strongly to shave almost a half-second off her record.

The 17-year-old Ledecky also holds the world records in the 800 and 1,500 freestyle events, and narrowly missed improving her mark in the 800 earlier at the Pan Pacifics.

It was her fourth gold medal of the meet, following her titles in the 200, 800 and the 4×200-meter relay.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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