Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus, 2o, toppled the reigning Olympic champion — American distance champion Katie Ledecky — in the women’s 400 meter freestyle.
Ledecky has held the world record in the event since 2014 — and has broken her own record twice since then — and although Sunday’s race left that record still standing, Titmus edged the veteran Olympian out in the last 100 meters. (RELATED: Katie Ledecky Takes Another Photo With Michael Phelps — But This Time Something Is Different)
Breaking: Australia’s Ariarne Titmus has won the gold medal in the women’s 400m freestyle, beating major rival Katie Ledecky in a thrilling final. Follow our live coverage: https://t.co/XpeY8Miv3m pic.twitter.com/Z19JkfnfpB
— The Sydney Morning Herald (@smh) July 26, 2021
Australia’s Ariarne Titmus wins the Olympic gold medal in the women’s 400m free.@KatieLedecky gets the silver, earning her first Olympic medal of these #TokyoOlympics.
📺 NBC
💻 https://t.co/XznsNz3Xze
📱 NBC Sports App pic.twitter.com/HDzi46SjJG— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) July 26, 2021
Throughout the race, the two were always within striking distance of each other.
Ledecky and Titmus spent the whole damn race like this, that was nuts pic.twitter.com/lf8ITBfKe0
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) July 26, 2021
Titmus’ coach reacted as soon as he saw the finish.
when the preworkout kicks in #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/xkU7zyF0gG
— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) July 26, 2021
In the moments after the race, Ledecky had only kind words for the woman who beat her, telling reporters that they had made each other better.
Katie Ledecky 🤝 Ariarne Titmus
Sportsmanship. #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/RADJgO88Lg
— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) July 26, 2021
Ledecky and Titmus will likely face off again in both the 200 meter freestyle and the 800.