When Ariarne Titmus stepped out to defend her Olympic title, the Australian couldn’t help but notice the weight of anticipation in Paris. From the hunter three years ago, Titmus had become the hunted; but that is exactly where “The Terminator” thrives. In one of the most anticipated races of the Olympics, Titmus retained her Olympic crown in the 400m freestyle final ahead of Canada’s Summer McIntosh while finishing more than three seconds clear of American great Katie Ledecky.
What was dubbed the “race of the century” in Paris 2024 turned into a show of dominance by the 23-year-old Titmus, who added to her growing reputation as she led from start to finish and executed a carefully managed race to claim a victory that at, 3:57:49, was still two seconds off her world record time. And yet, this was the hardest race of her life, given the build-up, the opponents, the raucous atmosphere at La Defense Arena, and the sense that she was the one to beat in the pool.
So instead Titmus blew the competition apart, the end result not quite living up to the electrifying silence before the starting mark, as Titmus pulled away from the seven-time Olympic Ledecky to leave the 17-year-old McIntosh as her closest challenger. “My legs are a bit tired, but I’m just relieved more than anything,” Titmus said. “I probably felt the expectation and pressure for this race more than anything in my life, to be honest, and I’m pretty good at handling the pressure of it.”
With Ledecky the 400m freestyle champion from Rio 2016 and Titmus having dethroned her in Tokyo before going on to claim the world record in the event, the third chapter of their rivalry was billed as one of the races of the Games. Titmus won it comfortably, and there will be more opportunities to claim gold in the 100m and 200m freestyle events. “I’m just happy to get the result for myself and I feel so honoured to be a part of the race and be alongside legends like Katie,” Titmus said. “I look up to her so much as an athlete and it’s certainly not a rivalry beyond the races. I really respect her as a person.”
With her first medal in Paris, Ledecky took a step closer to becoming America’s most decorated female Olympian. The 27-year-old, who is competing at her fourth Games, needs two more medals of any kind. Ledecky will have more chances and although she skipped facing Titmus in the 200m, the American will be favourite to take gold in both the 800m and 1,500m events. “I just didn’t have it on the last 200 or 250 that way I wanted to,” Ledecky said. “I felt like my first 150 was pretty good. I went out with the field and felt like I was within striking distance. I just couldn’t kick into that next gear that I would have wanted to finish it out.”
In one of the most highly anticipated events of the games, Ledecky and Titmus found themselves side by side in lanes 4 or 5, just as they were three years ago when the Australian claimed a stunning gold in Tokyo. Adding to Ledecky and Titmus was the 17-year-old McInstosh, another world record holder over 400m, though in the individual medley, and already a four-time world champion. Another contender for the podium was New Zealand’s Erika Fairweather, who won this year’s world championship in Doha. All four were capable of going well under four minutes and challenging for a new world record.
La Defense was a magnificent and fitting venue. While plans to host the swimming at the purpose-built Aquatics Centre fell through, it has given the Olympics a spectacular space for the star-studded clashes that will define so much of the next week in Paris. On the first night of the swimming finals, what is usually a rugby stadium that has been transformed into a swimming arena became alive, the noise of the crowd tightly enclosed under the roof and within the three steep stands. Aquatics arenas are often light, airy places; this was thunder from the start, as ear-splitting roars from the crowd greeted the night’s first races.
“The noise, atmosphere, pressure, definitely makes performing well hard,” Titmus said. “I really hope all the hype lived up to the expectation.” And yet her dominance made it look easy; the crowd came for a show, but Titmus was in control from start to end.
