- Titmus beat Ledecky by more than two seconds in the first American final in Paris
- The American remains the overwhelming favourite to win the gold medals in the 800m and 1500m.
Katie Ledecky was forced to settle for bronze in the women’s 400m freestyle on Saturday, while Ariarne Titmus again claimed gold.
The Australian defended her Tokyo gold in a battle dubbed the ‘Race of the Century’, leading from start to finish.
However, Ledecky was not defeated by Ledecky. The American failed to even take silver, while the Canadian phenomenal Summer McIntosh won her first Olympic medal.
It was a highly anticipated three-way duel, as all three held the world record for that distance for the past three years.
In the highly anticipated final, Tasmanian-born ‘Terminator’ Titmus clocked three minutes and 57.49 seconds to beat McIntosh (3:58.37) and Ledecky (4:00.86).
Katie Ledecky was forced to settle for bronze in the women’s 400m freestyle on Saturday
Her rival in the pool, Ariarne Titmus of Australia, edged her out by several seconds to take the gold.
Earlier on Saturday, Ledecky had fired the first shot in her duel with Titmus, clocking the fastest time in the preliminaries.
Titmus got off to a fast start but couldn’t hold off the speedy Ledecky on the final lap, but she wasn’t making the same mistake tonight. Not with gold on the line.
It was not the first time the Australian had dethroned Ledecky, a seven-time Olympic gold medalist.
Titmus burst onto the scene — and into her prime — just before the postponed 2021 Tokyo Games, where at age 20 she became the first woman to beat Ledecky in an Olympic race.
It was the beginning of their rivalry, which has followed them to Paris.
The rivalry intensified this week when the American cleverly snubbed her rival ahead of their battle for Olympic gold.
Ledecky, the most successful swimmer of all time with seven Olympic gold medals and 21 world championship golds, declined to say Titmus’ name during a packed press event in Paris.
Until Saturday, the American superstar had not beaten the Australian superfish in the 400 freestyle in five years and was unable to personally acknowledge Titmus, despite him being his biggest threat to take home gold.
Despite the fierce competition between the United States and Australia, Ledecky congratulated her rival
Despite the loss, Ledecky remains the favorite in the 800m and 1500m freestyle later in the day.
“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 with Summer (McIntosh) who was in the United States training in that country 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 my game. I know I have to give my best. I think they know they have to give their best.”
Ledecky is looking to add to her tally of six individual gold medals, the most by a female swimmer in Olympic history. She is a heavy favorite in both the 800-meter and 1,500-meter freestyle.