Paris Olympics: Ariarne Titmus wins gold in the 400m freestyle with an incredible swim that left American rival Katie Ledecky far behind in the ‘race of the century’
- The race was one of the most anticipated swimming competitions in Paris
- The Australians and Americans have built up an intense rivalry
Ariarne Titmus defended her women’s 400m freestyle title with an incredible swim at the Paris Olympics, completely defeating her American rival Katie Ledecky in the final.
In the so-called race of the century, Tasmanian-born Titmus clocked a time of 3 minutes and 57.49 seconds, beating Canadians Summer McIntosh (3:58.37) and Ledecky (4:00.86).
Titmus took an early lead and she and Ledecky both started the race strongly, setting a pace below the world record.
“Ledecky can only swim this race one way: she goes all out,” Giaan Rooney said on commentary for Channel Nine, but the American soon disappeared from the scene.
The Australian ran a comfortable pace and slowly built up her lead until halfway through the race, at which point she was just below the world record.
The record soon seemed to be in danger when Titmus managed to kick the ball away from the American with 100 meters to go.
Her lead continued to grow in the final stages of the race, with Ledecky completely disappearing and Canada’s Summer Mackintosh her only rival.
With this victory, Titmus becomes the first Australian woman to defend the individual gold medal in swimming since Dawn Fraser in 1964.
Australian swimming queen Ariarne Titmus defended her Olympic title with a devastating swim, with Ledecky (right) finishing in third place, beaten only by Canada’s Summer McIntosh (left).
Titmus went hard at the start and was under the world record pace for a while as she worked her way to victory in Paris
Katie Ledecky (pictured with Titmus in her arms) was a distant third
The Australian won convincingly, with the extremely enthusiastic coach Dean Boxall once again going wild in the stands after her triumph.
Australian Jamie Perkins finished last.
Titmus joins Fraser as the only Australian woman to successfully defend an Olympic title. Fraser won gold in the 100m freestyle at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics.
The Tasmanian, who holds the world record in both the 200m and 400m freestyle, is also the reigning Olympic champion in the 200m freestyle. The heats and semi-finals of that event are held on Sunday, with the final on Monday.
Titmus’ victory followed his compatriot Elijah Winnington’s silver medal in the men’s 400m freestyle, although his teammate Sam Short finished fourth.
