Aussie Ariarne Titmus beats American swimming legend Katie Ledecky

John Skilbeck

Aussie Ariarne Titmus beats American swimming legend Katie Ledecky image

Katie Ledecky admitted defeat "stings a little" after Australian Ariarne Titmus scuppered her bid for 400 metres freestyle glory at the World Aquatics Championships in South Korea.

American 22-year-old Ledecky had won three world titles in the event, and is the reigning Olympic champion, but on this occasion 18-year-old Titmus surged past her on the final length to take gold.

Titmus touched in three minutes, 58.76 seconds and played down her success, calling Ledecky "the greatest ever" and predicting "a real battle" between the pair at the Tokyo Olympics next year.

That could prove one of the highlights of the 2020 Games pool programme, with Ledecky needing to put together a more complete swim than she produced in Gwangju.

Ledecky claimed her legs felt "just dead" in the closing metres, saying on the Olympic Channel: "Obviously Ariarne took advantage of that and had a heck of a swim.

"Obviously this stings a little, it's unfamiliar and different, and I need to rebound from this and get my fight back."

American Ledecky has 14 world golds in all, and until Sunday's jarring setback had only failed to triumph at the championships in one previous final when she took 200m silver in Budapest two years ago.


 

Great Britain's Adam Peaty broke his own world record in the 100m breaststroke semi-finals, becoming the first man to push through the 57-second barrier as he clocked 56.88secs.

"Obviously I've been chasing that for years now," said Peaty.

John Skilbeck