Ariarne Titmus scares own world record in blistering Paris Olympics statement
Ariarne Titmus has put her Olympic rivals on notice with a blistering 400m freestyle time on the opening night of the Aussie swim trials.
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The stage is set for the queen to defend her throne.
Ariarne Titmus will defend her Olympic 400m freestyle title after booking her ticket to the Paris Olympics in blistering fashion on the opening night of the Australian swimming trials in Brisbane.
Titmus took it out hard and was a full body length ahead of her own world record pace at various stages during the race, but her own greatness caught up with her as she touched in 3min55.44sec.
It was just 0.06sec seconds shy of her own world record set at last year’s world championships in Japan.
It’s the fastest women’s 400m freestyle time ever swum on Australian soil.
“Watch out world, the Olympic champ is coming back for more gold,” Nine commentator Mat Thompson said.
“Swimming that close to the record gives me good confidence,” Titmus told reporters post race.
“The goal isn’t to swim my best here, the goal is to book a ticket. I’m excited to see what I can do in Paris.
“I think I’ve timed by prep perfectly. I’ve probably had the cleanest run through to a major meet this time around, so that gives me confidence.
“I feel like I’m a smarter swimmer than three years ago. This time I come in a much more well rounded athlete and person. I’ve grown so much as a person the last three years outside of swimming, which I think has made me a better athlete.”
It’s nearly four seconds faster than Summer McIntosh’s time from the Canadian Olympic trials and exactly four seconds faster than Katie Ledecky at the 2024 Speedo Atlanta Classic last month.
Ledecky will compete at the USA trials later this month and is expected to book her place at a fourth Olympics.
Titmus’ sensational time lays down a marker for her Olympic campaign and sets up a mouth-watering race against Ledecky and McIntosh, who is tipped to be one of the breakout stars in Paris.
Titmus famously beat Ledecky in the 400m freestyle in Tokyo, handing Ledecky her first ever defeat in an individual event at the Olympics.
The 23-year-old is aiming to become the first woman to defend their 400m freestyle Olympic title since the USA’s Martha Norelius in 1928.
“For me, it’s honestly just very exciting to be a part of this,” Titmus said of the 400m showdown.
“I kind of wish I was watching on as a swimming fan because you look back at the legacy points in swimming with Thorpie, Hacky and Kieren, being a swimming fan then would have been so fun.
“I just feel so honoured and proud of the work I’ve done to be in contention to win gold. It’s very exciting. It’s satisfying that to win my races I have to beat the greatest … in the toughest field in the world.”
Titmus is in a league of her own domestically but Australia will also have Lani Pallister swimming the 400m freestyle in Paris. She touched the wall in 4:02.27 to qualify for her first Olympics.
The red hot swims kept on coming in Brisbane, with Kaylee McKeown shaving another chunk off her own 200m medley national record.
McKeown’s time of 2:06.63 was 0.36sec faster than her swim earlier this year to break Stephanie Rice’s longstanding record in the event.
McKeown, who won the 100-200m backstroke double in Tokyo and holds all three backstroke world records, now shapes as a genuine contender for Olympic gold in the 200m medley.
McIntosh, American duo Alex Walsh and Kate Douglass and Canada’s Sydney Pickrem are all medal contenders in the 200m medley.
McKeown, 22, didn’t race the 200m medley in Tokyo and was controversially disqualified from the event at last year’s world titles.
Teenager Ella Ramsay also qualified in the medley in 2:09.32.
The surprise of the night came in the men’s 100m breaststroke, with 50m world champion Sam Williamson improving his own personal best set in the heats in a time of 58.80sec.
Joshua Yong finished second in 59.48, sneaking under Swimming Australia’s qualifying time by 0.01, giving him an individual swim and a maiden Olympic berth.
Zac Stubblety-Cook was third in 59.63 and the 200m breaststroke Olympic champion will need to qualify in his pet event later in the week.
Australia’s most decorated Olympian Emma McKeon won the 100m butterfly in 56.85, booking her spot at a third Games.
Alex Perkins was second in 57.33 but just missed the qualifying time of 57.17, so will have to wait and see if she is picked by the selectors as a relay backup.
In the men’s 400m freestyle, Elijah Winnington snagged bragging rights in the latest duel with fellow world champion Sam Short.
Winnington edged ahead over the last two laps to touch in 3:43.26 ahead of Short in 3:43.90, both comfortably qualifying for Paris.
Winnington and Short swum 3:41s this year at the national championships, but will be genuine medal chances in Paris nonethleless.
“Ultimately in Paris, you can win in a 3:45 or 3:39, but you’re still going to be an Olympic gold medallist,” Winnington said.
Short said he had been battling gastro in the lead-up to the trials.
Winnington went into the Tokyo Olympics with the fastest time in the world but finished seventh in the final.
This will be Short’s first Olympics, after he narrowly missed Swimming Australia’s 1500m freestyle qualifying time at the Tokyo trials.
Originally published as Ariarne Titmus scares own world record in blistering Paris Olympics statement
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