Mollie O’Callaghan edges Ariarne Titmus to win 200m freestyle gold medal at Paris Olympics

Quiet and unassuming on the exterior, Mollie O’Callaghan proved herself a cold-blooded killer when she swam over training partner Ariarne Titmus in an electric 200m freestyle final.

Mollie O'Callaghan celebrates after winning gold in the women’s 200m freestyle. Picture: Getty Images

In this golden generation of Australian swimming superstars, Mollie O’Callaghan might yet emerge as the one who shines brightest.

The quiet and unassuming sprinter with the instincts of a cold-blooded killer produced arguably the greatest swim performance of the Olympic Games by prevailing in the epic showdown with training partner Ariarne Titmus in an electric 200m freestyle final.

O’Callaghan’s stunning come-from-behind win in the 200m freestyle was the stuff legends are made of, eyeballing one of the greats of the sport and coming out on top.

The 20-year-old kept herself within reach of the leaders and simply exploded out of the final turn to overhaul the field to go from third to first and win the gold medal in 1:53.27 just ahead of Titmus in 1:53.81.

Mollie O’Callaghan celebrates with Ariarne Titmus after their 1-2 finish in the 200m freestyle at the Paris Olympics. Picture: Adam Head

O’Callaghan’s final lap burst of 27.98s was more than half a second quicker than her training partner Titmus in 28.64s.

“I can’t explain it. There’s no words to explain it,” O’Callaghan said.

It is the first time Australian women have won the gold and silver medals in the same event since 1996 when Susie O’Neill led home Petria Thomas in the 200m butterfly in Atlanta.

It also comes 20 years after Ian Thorpe led home Grant Hackett in the 400m freestyle at Athens in 2004.

Mollie O'Callaghan came from behind to stun teammate and training partner Ariarne Titmus. Picture: Getty Images

But these two are not just Dolphins teammates, they are Brisbane training partners and they turned the podium celebration into a combined achievement as O’Callaghan invited Titmus onto the top step of the podium to sing the national anthem.

How coach Dean Boxall has navigated the minefield of preparing two athletes in the same pool in pursuit of the same gold medal is one of swimming’s great mysteries.

Within seconds of whispering a consoling message to Titmus on pool deck, he was fist pumping in wild celebration for O’Callaghan and sharing a cuddle.

But with the showdown won and done, focus turns to what next as O’Callaghan tackles a monster program.

It was her second gold medal of the Paris Olympics and after two relay heat swim gold medals at the Tokyo Games, the 20-year-old from Brisbane now has a career tally of four gold medals.

With the 100m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle races still to come here in France, O’Callaghan may yet leave these Games by joining Emma McKeon as the most gold medals won by an Australian athlete with six – and her career is only just getting started.

“I’ve got to stay steady and calm, I’ve got the 100m free tomorrow so I’ve got to keep collected, calm and cool for this week,” O’Callaghan said.

Ariarne Titmus and Mollie O'Callaghan celebrate on the podium. Picture: Getty Images

“I’m swimming for the country, and now I’ll let it settle in at the end of the week, but I had a few tears, and I had a few tears with Arnie, but it’s just great to race alongside my teammate and be on the podium with her.”

What makes O’Callaghan’s gold medal performance even more remarkable is the mental mountain she’s climbed since Titmus reduced her to tears when she snatched her world record at the Olympic trials just eight weeks ago.

But if anything, losing that world record to Titmus released the valve to a pressure cooker that had been steaming for 12 months.

O’Callaghan had felt the weight of expectation. The pressure of being a reigning world champion and world record holder.

Mollie O'Callaghan revels in her victory. Picture: Adam Pretty/Getty Images

Now all the focus was on Titmus, and O’Callaghan had to do what she does best and fight again.

“You’ve got to accept the challenge at the end of the day. You can either run or you can either fight. I chose to fight,” she said.

But that fight didn’t come easily. She battled horrendous nerves all day long, just as she did at trials, only this time she was able to remind herself that the target was not on her back but rather on Titmus.

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“Yeah, I was so nervous, you know, I just kind of thought in my head … there’s nothing to lose here,” she said.

“You know I became world champion last year and this is a new year and I can just swim however I want.

“I can do the best that I can and leave it all on the floor.

“Today I was a nervous wreck, couldn’t nap, couldn’t do anything. My brain just overthinks.”

O’Callaghan said she had put all her faith in Boxall when her confidence was rocked at the Olympic trials.

“I’m always striving for more and I always put a lot of pressure on myself. My expectations are very high,” she said.

“I just had to go with Dean and trust him knowing what to do and what’s best.

“To be honest, I did it for the country, I didn’t do it for myself. I’m racing for all these people. I just had to put it behind me. Less pressure, now I get to swim freely.”

Originally published as Mollie O’Callaghan edges Ariarne Titmus to win 200m freestyle gold medal at Paris Olympics