Ledecky, who won the 400m free on the opening day of the trials on Sunday, clocked 1min 54.88sec to finish ahead of Missy Franklin (1:56.18) – a quadruple gold medalist in London who booked her first individual Rio berth after failing to make it in the 100m backstroke.
The 200m freestyle is the latest event to be conquered by Ledecky, who won it at last year's world championships along with the 400m, 800m and 1 500m free – the last of which is not an Olympic event for women.