Ariarne Titmus vs Katie Ledecky, swimming finals, 400 metres freestyle, result, reaction, US

It was the race your entire swimming world was ready for and it actually delivered as Titmus won a thriller.

Ariarne Titmus completed the third-fastest qualifier for the ladies’s 400 metres freestyle remaining as she eyed off defending champion Katie Ledecky.

The five-time Olympic gold medallist headed into the Video games seeking to declare victory for herself and in doing so put a cease to the rise of Australia’s Titmus.

The Aussie beat Ledecky to win the 400 metre freestyle remaining on the 2019 world championships in Gwangju.

The 20-year previous additionally made one other assertion at Australia’s Olympic trials in Adelaide final month when she swam 3:56.90 – the second quickest time within the occasion’s historical past.

“I’m positively nonetheless saying I’m the hunter,” Titmus stated throughout a pre-Olympics Zoom session final week.

“She has far more expertise than me on this competitors, and she or he has handled the strain earlier than, and I’m coming into unknown territory.”

It was Ledecky’s race to lose and a few specialists in America have been predicting she would carry on Titmus’ downfall on Monday.

“Am I a bit of involved that Ledecky’s quickest time on this occasion this yr is nowhere close to her world-record tempo? Certain,” The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach wrote.

“Am I additionally (greater than) a bit of involved that Titmus simply posted the second-fastest time within the ladies’s 400 free in historical past? Sure. Nonetheless, Ledecky has been essentially the most dominant feminine swimmer on this planet over the previous 9 years.

“Till she will get beat head-to-head, whereas totally wholesome, in any of the occasions during which she holds the world file … I can’t decide in opposition to her.”

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The Washington Submit although sensed one thing completely different was about to occur.

“Thus far, Ledecky’s Olympic file is unblemished: 4 particular person occasions, 4 gold medals,” The Washington Post’s Dave Sheinin wrote.

“However since attaining her standing because the dominant feminine swimmer on this planet, she has by no means confronted a challenger like Titmus.

“Ledecky has redefined the outer limits of athletic potential throughout her historic profession, breaking conference together with her stroke and her coaching and making use of a sprinter’s mentality to her sport’s longest races, so it was inevitable that sometime somebody would come alongside — younger, hungry and emboldened by her instance — to knock her off her throne.”

Titmus was that particular person, making the largest assertion but and the entire world was watching.