July 26, 2021 at 09:01AMAlice Park/Tokyo
Team USA’s Katie Ledecky lost her first individual event at the Tokyo Summer Olympics Monday morning. Ariarne Titmus of Australia inched past Ledecky in the last 50m of the 400m freestyle—just as she did the last time the two met.
Titmus, who’s earned the nickname “Terminator” for her methodical conquering of rivals in the event, clocked the second fastest time in history to beat Ledecky to the wall. The 20-year-old used the same strategy against Ledecky that helped her push past the American at the world championships in 2019 and become the first to best Ledecky in the event at a major meet.
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Ahead until the last 100m, Ledecky gave up her half body length lead as Titmus found her now-trademark spurt of speed to touch the wall first, at 3:56.69, 0.67 seconds ahead of Ledecky.
Ledecky holds the last three world records in the event, but with this win, Titmus is quickly establishing herself as the new queen of the 400m freestyle. After finishing fourth at the 2017 world championships, Titmus has been methodically whittling away at her time. Like Ledecky, she’s also aiming to swim in the 200m and 800m events in Tokyo, so the two are likely to meet again, fueling a newfound rivalry that is likely to give both swimmers a boost in those races.
READ MORE: How Katie Ledecky Swims So Fast
The only spectators at the Tokyo Aquatics Center to witness the stunning upset were other swimmers, grouped by country, with some sitting socially distanced and others not. Teammates waved flags and sounded horns to make as much supportive noise as possible, but the races themselves were remarkably quiet, with the only sound coming from the splash of the swimmers racing through the pool.
Ledecky gave Titmus a quick hug once both were out of the pool, and was likely already looking ahead to their next meeting, less than 7 hours later, for the qualifying heats for the 200m freestyle. If both make the final, then Ledecky and Titmus will race again in two days.
Ledecky, however, has an additional challenge that day — she’s also hoping to swim the final for the 1500m freestyle as well, which occurs in the same session, meaning she may swim both finals within an hour and a half of each other.
Read more about the Tokyo Olympics:
- Naomi Osaka: ‘It’s O.K. to Not Be O.K.’
- Motherhood Could Have Cost Olympian Allyson Felix. She Wouldn’t Let It
- ‘Unapologetic and Unafraid.’ Sue Bird Stares Down Olympic Glory in Tokyo and Equity Off the Court
- Meet 6 Heroes Who Helped Battle COVID-19 Before Competing in the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics
- 48 Athletes to Watch at the Tokyo Olympics
- The Olympic Refugee Team Was Created to Offer Hope. Some Athletes Are Running Away From It
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