Ariarne Titmus tops Katie Ledecky, sets world record in 400-meter freestyle
By the final turn of the women’s 400-meter freestyle Sunday at the swimming world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Ariarne Titmus already had rewritten the storyline for the most anticipated race in years. And by the time she touched the final wall, far in front of the rest of the field, she also had rewritten the record book.
While the head-to-head-to-head showdown among Australia’s Titmus, Katie Ledecky of the United States and Canada’s Summer McIntosh — the past three world record holders — failed to live up to the hype, Titmus’s dominant, wire-to-wire performance ensured the race would be historic.
Titmus, 22, touched the wall in 3 minutes 55.38 seconds, not only taking the gold medal but obliterating the world record by seven-tenths of a second. That record had belonged to McIntosh, who had taken it in March from Titmus, who had taken it in May 2022 from Ledecky, who had held it since 2014.
Advertisement
“I think it’s about trusting yourself,” Titmus told reporters in Japan. “I’ve got a ‘fearless’ tattoo on my foot, so I can see that before I dive. I try to swim like that little girl I was first up against Katie. I was never afraid to take it to her. The only way to win is to take it out, to see who had the most fight and who had the most gas left in the tank. I am happy that it worked.”
Ledecky, the 26-year-old from Bethesda, Md., and a seven-time Olympic gold medalist, produced her best time of the year in the event, 3:58.73, but trailed Titmus for the entire race and finished more than two body lengths behind. It was her third straight loss to her Australian rival, following the 2019 worlds and the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
The silver was the 23rd world championships medal of Ledecky’s career, the most for a female swimmer. (Nineteen of them are gold.) She will have two more chances in the meet, as the heavy favorite in the 800 and 1,500 freestyles, to match Michael Phelps’s record of 15 individual gold medals at worlds. She will also helm the U.S. entry in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay.
Advertisement
“I think you could just see the world record coming. It’s been a very fast year of swimming, and it was kind of predictable that it would be a really fast field,” Ledecky said. “I can’t really complain. My stroke feels good. I feel good in the water. I think all year my 800 has felt better than my 400, so I’m excited about the rest of my week.”
McIntosh, the 16-year-old phenom, held second place for the first three-quarters of the race but faded to fourth in 3:59.94, nearly four seconds off her world record. She was out-touched at the finish by Erika Fairweather of New Zealand (3:59.59), the surprise bronze medalist.
With McIntosh still on the rise and Ledecky swimming as well as she has in years since joining Gator Swim Club in Gainesville, Fla., in September 2021, next summer’s rematch at the Paris Olympics still could fulfill its billing as a potential race of the century. But at least for now, the evidence points to Titmus being in a different realm in the 400.
Advertisement
Titmus’s performance was not the only monumental one of the day. In the men’s 400-meter individual medley, gold medalist Leon Marchand of France finished in 4:02.50 to take down the last remaining world record held by Phelps. Phelps’s mark of 4:03.84 from the 2008 Beijing Olympics had stood for 15 years, and he had owned the record exclusively for 21.
Marchand, 21, trains at Arizona State under Bob Bowman, who also coached Phelps and is the men’s coach for Team USA in Fukuoka. He will be a heavy favorite in the 200 IM later in the meet. One year out from the Paris Olympics, it appears the home nation will boast the best male swimmer in the world.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZMCxu9GtqminnK66sbXCrGZraGJofHGDjmtqaJminq6zusRmq6KsnarAbsPOq6OdZaKasLC%2Bw2aimqyZmnqtscOemqSxXw%3D%3D