Ledecky, trailing McIntosh at the 700-meter mark, surged ahead on the final lap, fending off a hard-charging Pallister as McIntosh faded in the closing meters. With the win, Ledecky remained undefeated in the 800-meter freestyle finals event on the world stage dating back to 2012.

In other events, Gretchen Walsh became the first American woman to ever win gold at the world championships in the 50m butterfly. Regan Smith and Claire Curzan took silver and bronze, respectively, in the women's 200m backstroke. Jack Alexy's bronze in the men's 50 freestyle was his third medal of the 2025 world championships.

Ledecky won with a time of 8:05.62, both a world championships record and the fourth fastest time in the history of the 800m free. Pallister wasn't far behind (8:05.98), with McIntosh claiming bronze (8:07.29).