The 15,000-seat stadium had been emptying out as the morning wore on. It was only about a quarter full by the time the preliminary women’s 1,500-meter freestyle began at the FINA World Swimming Championships in Kazan, Russia. But those still in the audience yesterday morning were treated to a history making swim by Bethesda native Katie Ledecky. And she wasn’t really even trying.

“My coach told me to swim the first 900m easy, build over the next 300, then the final 300 was my choice and to be honest, it felt pretty easy,” Ledecky said. So it was rather a surprise to reach the wall and find her teammates screaming and the arena up in arms.

The 18-year-old has time to give a big smile, look around, give a fist pump to the crowd, and look around some more before her closest competitor comes in second—28.81 seconds later. She had lapped three swimmers by the time she clocked in at a time of 15:27.71, for her eighth world record in two years. This during a race when she was taking it “easy.”

“I’m in quite a bit of shock right now,” she said after getting out of the pool. “It’s probably one of the coolest world records I’ve broken. Each one is really unique, but just sort of how relaxed I was and how calm. I think breaking that record is just testament to the work I’ve put in and the shape I’m in right now.”

As The New York Times put it:

It was like Taylor Swift taping herself singing in the shower and having the recording become the best-selling song of all time.”