Freestyle queen Ariarne Titmus delivered an ominous message to her rivals at the Australian Olympic trials on Monday night, swimming the second fastest women’s 400m freestyle in history to qualify for the Paris Games.
Titmus was ahead of her own world record mark until the dying metres, finishing in 3.55.44 – just six one-hundredths of a second off the record. The two-time Olympic gold medallist is the only woman to have broken the 3 minute 56 second barrier, but faces stiff competition in Paris from Canada’s Summer McIntosh and American swim great Katie Ledecky.
“Swimming that close to the record gives me good confidence,” Titmus said after her win. “The goal isn’t to swim my best here, it’s to book your ticket – so I’m excited to see what I can do now in Paris.”
Titmus rose to fame in Tokyo by dethroning Ledecky, who had dominated women’s freestyle for the best part of a decade. The Australian also won the 200m freestyle, finished second in the 800m freestyle and earned a bronze medal in the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay. Titmus, still only 23, said she had grown in the years since her break-out performance at the last Games.
“I feel like I’m a smarter swimmer – I have so much more experience under my belt,” she said. “I’m a more well-rounded athlete, and a more well-rounded person. I’ve grown so much as a human outside of swimming in the past three years, which has made me a better athlete.”
Titmus paid tribute to her rivals in what shapes up to be one of the marquee races of the Paris swim meet, which gets underway in late July. “I think it’s more satisfying in my races that to win I have to beat the greatest,” she said. “That gives me more satisfaction knowing that if I do win, it is in the toughest field in the world.”
Titmus was followed home by Lani Pallister, in 4.02.27, with the 22-year-old earning a place at her first Olympics. Pallister is the daughter of Commonwealth Games gold medal winning swimmer Janelle Pallister.
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In the second race of the night, three-time Tokyo gold medallist Kaylee McKeown booked her ticket to Paris in the women’s 200m individual medley. The backstroke supremo made a late decision to skip the medley race at the last Games, amid a crowded schedule, but has indicated she will contest the four-stroke discipline in Paris. Young gun Ella Ramsay finished second and well within the qualifying time to secure her own spot on the Dolphins team for the Olympics.
The swimming continues on Monday evening, with women’s 100m butterfly and the men’s 400m freestyle among the highly-anticipated events.
