No doubt this time, the Terminator Titmus takes down Katie Ledecky in 400 free

TOKYO >> This time there were no excuses.

Or doubts.

Australia’s Ariarne Titmus won the Olympic Games 400-meter freestyle at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre Monday morning, denying Katie Ledecky’s gold medal defense and most likely her hopes of equaling or surpassing the record for most gold medals by a female swimmer. The final that lived up to its advance billing.

Titmus, reeling in and then pulling away from Ledeck in the final 125 meters, finished in 3 minutes, 56.69 seconds to capture a blockbuster showdown the sport had obsessed about almost from the moment she upset Ledecky at the 2019 World Championships in South Korea.

“It is the biggest thing you can pull off in your sporting career, so I’m over the moon,” said Titmus, who will face Ledecky again in the 200 freestyle and the 4×200 freestyle relay later in the week. “I’m trying to contain it as much as I can. I have a big program ahead of me, but I can enjoy this afterwards.”

Titmus’ time is the second fastest in history, just off the world and Olympic record of 3:56.46 Ledecky set in winning in Rio de Janeiro four years ago. Ledecky finished in 3:57.36, a time surpassed only by Titmus and herself, but not fastest enough to extend her reign as the most dominant female swimmer of her generation, if not all time.

Great Britain’s Adam Peaty left no doubt about his continued domination of the 100 breaststroke, successfully defending his Olympic title in convincing fashion. Peaty touched the wall in 57.37, well ahead of runner-up Arno Kamminga (58.10) and bronze medalist Nicolo Martinechi of Italy (58.33). Team USA Michael Andrew was fourth in 58.84.

The U.S. salvaged the morning by blowing away the field in the men’s 4×100 freestyle relay with the third fastest time in history—3:08.97.

Ariarne Titmus of Australia, right, leaves the pool after winning the final of the women’s 400-meters freestyle as Katie Ledecky of the United States watches at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 26, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner) 

Titmus, 20, known as the Terminator in her swimming obsessed country, stunned the sport when she knocked off Ledecky, 24, at the 2019 Worlds. Ledecky’s snub of Titmus immediately after the race only further fueled a rivalry the sport was desperate for. But for many in swimming, Titmus’ victory came with an asterisk. The next morning Ledecky pulled out of the 1,500 and 200 freestyles, citing illness. She would later return to win the Worlds 800. Titmus finished second to Italy’s Federica Pellegrini in the 200 freestyle.

Monday’s race gained even more intrigue when Titmus swam 3:56.90, then the second fastest time ever, in the Australian Olympic Trials when she also just missed Pellegrini’s world 200 record with a 1:53.09 clocking. Both Titmus marks were significantly faster than what Ledecky swam at the U.S. Trials in Omaha–4:01.27 and 1:55.11.

“I’m her number one competitor at the moment,” Titmus said of Ledecky at the Trials adding, “Well, she’s not going to have it all her own way.”

Ledecky was visibility annoyed by questions about Titmus in Omaha, saying “medals aren’t won” at trials.

But the American appeared nervous as she waited to take the starting block Monday.

The race followed a similar pattern to the 2019 Worlds final where Ledecky led from the start, opening a 0.62 second lead at the final turn only to be chased down by Titmus.

Ledecky seemed in control at the 200 mark, opening up a sizable gap—1:57.44 to 1:58.10 .

“Honestly, at the 200 I was a bit worried, but I did not come to the Olympic Games unprepared,” Titmus said. “I had to trust myself and stay as composed as I could. Use the speed that I have.”

Ledecky continued to lead at 300 meters but the Australian had cut the gap to .16. Fifty meters later Titmus had a .22 lead at the final turn  Ledecky responded with a surge but when Titmus answered back it was over.

“She definitely swam a really smart race,” said Ledecky, who has made a habit of not uttering Titmus’ name. “She was really controlled up front. I felt smooth and strong. I looked up at 300 meters and she was right there so I knew it would be a battle to the end. I didn’t feel like I died or really fell off. She just had a faster final 50m or 75m and got her hand to the wall first.”

The loss dealt a major setback to Ledecky’s hopes of matching or surpassing Jenny Thompson’s Olympic record of eight swimming gold medals. Ledecky is an overwhelming favorite to defend her 800 freestyle title and win the inaugural Olympic 1,500 freestyle. But she is looking more and more like a long shot in the 200 free with a U.S. victory in the 4x 200 relay far from a given.

“I guess, I’ve had some tough ones over the years,” she said. “It was certainly a tough race and I delivered. I couldn’t do much better than that. A tremendous race. A lot of fun. I can’t be too disappointed. It was my second best swim ever (over 400m freestyle). I felt like I fought tooth and nail and that’s all you can ask for.”