- Mollie O’Callaghan has won her second Olympic gold medal in Paris
- She defeated her compatriot Ariarne Titmus in the final
- Titmus was the reigning Olympic champion before the race
Mollie O’Callaghan has beaten her training partner and former Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus to win gold in Paris.
The Australian superstars both reached the top two positions in the 200m freestyle final, leading to the mother of all showdowns between the two club mates, who are both trained by the same coach, Dean Boxall.
Titmus wanted to become the first swimmer to successfully defend his 200m and 400m freestyle titles at the Olympics. He was the favorite for the race, having performed better in the semi-finals.
She also broke O’Callaghan’s record in the 200m freestyle, just six weeks before Monday’s big race.
But O’Callaghan saved her best effort for the perfect moment: she touched the wall ahead of her teammate to take gold.
The 20-year-old trailed Titmus as the Tokyo champion made her mark in the first 150 metres.
At the final corner O’Callaghan really put the pedal to the metal and passed Titmus with a time of 1.53:27.
Titmus, meanwhile, was more than half a second slower and took silver with a time of 1:53.81.
Mollie O’Callaghan has won gold in the women’s 200m freestyle at the Olympic Games
O’Callaghan defeated Tokyo champion and teammate Ariarne Titmus in the final
Boxall, who had remained neutral throughout the run-up to the race, nevertheless gave a thumbs up when the camera panned to him at the end of the race.
It is O’Callaghan’s second gold medal at the Paris Olympics, having won the top prize in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay on Saturday night.
“It’s an honour to be with everyone and compete against Arnie,” said O’Callaghan.
“She’s an absolute gun. She races like an absolute beast. And it’s an honor to train with her and have such a great team around us.”
O’Callaghan snatched gold from her teammate with an incredible final 50 metres
Titmus was seen holding her teammate’s arm up in congratulations after the race, and she complimented Boxall on his efforts in guiding them both.
“I think he should be so proud of his efforts. He’s a brilliant coach,” she said.
“For him to do this and have the two fastest girls in the world is a feather in his cap. It’s not just us, on opening night he contributed as a coach to every medal we won.”
