- The rivalry between Katie Ledecky and Ariarne Titmus will be the highlight of the Games
- The swimming legend has not beaten Australia in the 400m freestyle since 2019
- The American star says he likes his chances against Titmus
The rivalry between swimming star Katie Ledecky and Australian Ariarne Titmus has escalated with the American great cleverly snubbing her rival ahead of their battle for Olympic gold.
Ledecky, the most successful female swimmer of all time with seven Olympic gold medals and 21 world championships golds, has refused to name her Australian rival Ariarne Titmus during a packed press event in Paris.
The American superstar has not beaten the Australian superfish in the 400 freestyle in five years and could not bring himself to personally acknowledge Titmus.
“I like my chances, but yeah, that’s just me and I feel like I’m prepared and ready to compete and that’s all you can ask for,” Ledecky said.
“I’m going to give it my best shot and obviously there’s a great field from start to finish. There are a lot of people who have a chance, so I’m going to have a great race in the morning and in the evening and see where that takes me.”
‘They are great athletes and I have had the opportunity to compete with them several times over the years, especially during the summer when I was training in the United States, and we have competed a lot over the last few years.
‘It’s always fun to compete against the best and we have the three best times in that race, which makes for a fantastic race.
‘Those two have continued to improve the game, improve my game.
American swimmer Katie Ledecky (pictured) refused to name her Australian rival Ariarne Titmus during a press event in Paris.
Ledecky and Ariarne Titmus (pictured) will battle it out for Olympic gold in the 400m freestyle in one of the most anticipated clashes of the Games.
“I know I have to give my best. I think they know they have to give their best.”
Ledecky also said Olympic swimmers continue to demand answers about doping cases in China.
“They want transparency, they want more answers to the questions that remain,” Ledecky told reporters.
‘Right now, we’re here to compete. We’re going to compete with whoever’s in the next lane.
“We are not the ones charging for testing. So we hope that people will follow their own rules and that this will apply now and in the future.
“We want to see some change in the future so you don’t have to ask us that question.”
Ledecky has not beaten the Australian superfish in the 400m freestyle since 2019
In April, The New York Times reported that 23 Chinese swimmers were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago despite testing positive earlier in 2021.
Eleven of the swimmers who tested positive for trimetazidine, a drug banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), have been selected for China’s swimming team for the Paris Olympics.
WADA has accepted the findings of a Chinese investigation which determined that the test results were due to contamination from the kitchen of a team hotel.
An independent investigation this month found that WADA did not act wrongly or show favoritism.