Ariarne Titmus and Mollie O’Callaghan break 200m freestyle world record in Olympic trials

A monumental in-house rivalry between two mighty athletes who share the same coach delivered at the Olympic trials. While Ariarne Titmus prevailed, both broke the previous 200m freestyle world record.

Mollie O'Callaghan and Ariarne Titmus. Picture: Getty Images

Ariarne Titmus won the 200m freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics. She knew what would happen next. Her teenage training partner in Brisbane would hunt her down like Ford going after Holden. Her name was Mollie O’Callaghan and she was churning through her laps like the clappers.

Three years later, Titmus will defend her Olympic gold medal in Paris – and right on cue she’s put the nerve-riddled Mollie O back in her box by winning their scintillating, neck-and-neck, stroke-for-stroke, eyeball-to-eyeball showdown at the Australian trials, clocking a sizzling world record of 1:52.23 to beat O’Callaghan’s 1:52.48. A fingernail in it, really, as they both broke O’Callaghan’s former world record in a breathtaking contest.

Give them a spin around Mount Panorama. Who wouldn’t want to watch 161 laps of this? “I’m just really happy to finally produce a swim in the 200 that I feel like my training reflects,” Titmus said. “We push each other every day.”

Ariarne Titmus celebrates on Wednesday night. Picture: Getty Images

Folks are going gaga about Titmus versus American Katie Ledeckie and Canadian Summer McIntosh in the 400m freestyle in France, and with good reason, but there’s more butterflies in my stomach at the thought of Titmus against Mollie O in the 200m. All-Australian, all-in, Ford versus Holden back in the day, or Collingwood versus Carlton today, a monumental in-house rivalry between two mighty Australian athletes who are uniquely close enough as mates to train together under their famously passionate coach, Dean Boxall. There’s something special about that.

“When you’ve got someone like Dean in your corner, you’d beat everyone,” Titmus said. “He has the most passion, the most pride to be part of this swim team. I’ve been with Dean since I was 15. I’ve basically grown up alongside him. He’s more than just my coach, he’s my best friend, basically. It’s pretty cool to have him on the journey. For him to show his passion … that’s exactly who he is. It’s really special to have him as my coach.”

Only three Australian women have won the Olympic 200m freestyle: Shane Gould at the 1972 Munich Games, Susie O (O’Neill) at the 2000 Sydney Games and Titmus in Tokyo. Their trials race between Mollie O and Titmus was win-win, really, because they both qualified for the Games, but only one can take the top step on the Olympic podium. O, to be a fly on the wall when Boxall puts them through their paces between now and their Paris showdown.

Arriving on pool deck, Titmus had the formidable air of an Olympic champion. Mollie O was palpably tense. It appeared she was hampered when her swimming cap slipped out of place in her final push to the wall. For elite Australian sporting rivalry, this is as good as it gets.

“We push each other to the best of our limits,” O’Callaghan said. “I’m not really experienced just yet. I’m still learning. I’m still really getting used to this 200m freestyle. It’s a very difficult event to get your head around. This morning, last night, I couldn’t really sleep. The past few days I’ve just been getting eaten up by the nerves.”