Aussie teenager Ariarne Titmus terminates rivals at French Open

New national champion Ariarne Titmus has won the 400m at the French Open, as she prepares for her world titles debut.

Teenager Ariarne Titmus won the 400m freestyle in Chartres yesterday in a time of 4min 5.21sec.

Teen tyro Ariarne Titmus has won her first senior international race at the French Open, after breaking through to win the 400m and 800m freestyle at the national titles in April.

The 16-year-old has a triple date with the best female swimmer in the world, Katie Ledecky, at the world titles in Budapest later this month, and warmed up with a strong performance to win the 400m freestyle in Chartres yesterday.

The Tasmanian schoolgirl, now based in Brisbane, didn’t miss a beat after getting off the plane from Australia, winning the 400m by more than three seconds in a time of 4min 5.21sec, just a fraction outside her personal best time, ranking her fourth in the world this year.

The previous day, Titmus went head to head with one of the world’s premier distance swimmers, Spain’s Olympic 200m butterfly champion Mireia Belmonte, in the 800m final.

Belmonte won in 8:27.33 from Titmus in 8:28.51 with former national champion Jess Ashwood third (8:28.54).

Known as Arnie to her friends, and “The Terminator’’ to her father Steve, Titmus has a fearless approach to racing, which was one of the highlights of the national trials in April. She will need that quality when she makes her world championships debut racing the current queen of the pool, Ledecky, the Olympic champion in the 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle, who is also an aggressive racer.

Titmus says her coach Dean Boxall has taught her to back herself no matter who she is racing.

“Dean has really taught me not to be scared,’’ she said in April.

“I used to be a bit afraid if I went out hard ... but now I know I’m in this race as well and I can do my own thing and go out hard and I think that has taught me how to swim fast over the longer distances. I race better if I’m out in front and the other girls have to try and catch me.’’

Meanwhile, Australia’s most successful Rio Olympian, Emma McKeon, underlined her multiple medal credentials by winning three events at the French Open over the weekend.

She touched out hometown favourite Charlotte Bonnet (ranked fourth in the world) to take the 200m freestyle on Sunday (1:57.31) and returned yesterday to win a difficult double, starting with the 200m butterfly (2:07.49) and finishing with the 100m freestyle (54.24sec). She also finished second in the 100m butterfly. The 200m butterfly is not yet on McKeon’s international schedule but she is experimenting with an event that many believe she could swim exceptionally well.

It may well make an appearance in her program at next year’s Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast where she would not have to swim semi-finals in the 200m events.

The national team’s oldest rookie Holly Barratt, 29, is also showing a liking for international competition. She won the 50m (27.81sec) and 100m backstroke (1:00.05) in Chartres. The youngest member of the national team, 15-year-old Kaylee McKeown, finished second in both events.