The women's 400m freestyle was billed as the showdown of all showdowns in the pool at the 2024 Olympics, but Ariarne Titmus did her best to put the suspense to rest in the final Saturday.
Titmus opened up an early lead and never relented, steadily building separation between herself and 17-year-old Canadian star Summer McIntosh. Katie Ledecky, meanwhile, saw her dreams of revenge after a second-place finish in Tokyo fall by the wayside despite winning the heats earlier in the day.
Ledecky was a distant third for much of the race, to the point that her terrific endurance couldn't nearly make up the difference. Ledecky finished more than three seconds behind Titmus, who remained off her world-record and Ledecky's Olympic-record pace but still won by a comfortable margin.
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While not the result either wanted, McIntosh earned the first of what could be many Olympic medals in her career, while Ledecky earned her 11th Olympic medal to move within one of tying the all-time women's swimming record.
It's Titmus, however, who can celebrate as the 400 freestyle champion for the second consecutive Olympics as she claims what she hopes will be the first of multiple gold medals in Paris.
The Sporting News tracked live updates and results from the women's 400 freestyle swimming final featuring USA star Katie Ledecky. Check out all of the moments you might have missed below.
MORE: Watch Katie Ledecky's Olympic races live with Fubo (free trial)
Olympic women's 400-meter freestyle results
| Place | Swimmer | Time |
| 1 | Ariarne Titmus (Australia) | 3:57.49 |
| 2 | Summer McIntosh (Canada) | 3:58.37 |
| 3 | Katie Ledecky (United States) | 4:00.86 |
| 4 | Erika Fairweather (Australia) | 4:01.12 |
| 5 | Isabel Gose (Germany) | 4:02.14 |
| 6 | Paige Madden (United States) | 4:02.26 |
| 7 | Maria Fernanda Costa (Brazil) | 4:03.53 |
| 8 | Jamie Perkins (Australia) | 4:04.96 |
Katie Ledecky updates, results, highlights from 2024 Olympics
(All times Eastern)
3:01 p.m. — Ariarne Titmus wins! She outlasts 17-year-old Summer McIntosh, with Ledecky earning bronze after falling behind by a significant margin early on. McIntosh impressed, but she didn't put too much pressure on Titmus down the stretch.
3:01 p.m. — Titmus leads McIntosh by just over a meter with 100m left. Ledecky is four meters back but in position for bronze.
3:00 p.m. — Ledecky has dropped more than two meters off the lead halfway through. Titmus remains in front by a comfortable margin.
2:58 p.m. — McIntosh is right there with Titmus. Ledecky tends to gain later on, and we'll see how much she can do that.
2:57 p.m. — They're off! Titmus has the early lead, but Ledecky's strength is her endurance.
2:56 p.m. — Roger Goodell, Peyton Manning, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen are among those in the building for this race. We're just minutes away.
2:51 p.m. — Germany's Lukas Martens wins the men's 400 freestyle, falling short of the world record, and the women will be up next.
2:42 p.m. — The start of the men's 400 free will be a few minutes behind, so expect the same for the women's.
2:28 p.m. — The women's 400-meter (2:52 p.m. ET) will be preceded by the men's 400-meter freestyle 10 minutes earlier. NBC's live coverage is about to get underway.
2:12 p.m. — Titmus remains the slight favorite in this race despite finishing second in the heats, with Ledecky and McIntosh just behind.
2:00 p.m. — Ledecky won the heats earlier in the day, finishing in 4:02.19 ahead of Australia's Ariarne Titmus. New Zealand's Erika Fairweather impressed with a third-place finish, while Canada's Summer McIntosh finished fourth.
Katie Ledecky making it look easy on Day 1 in Paris. 😤
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 27, 2024
She wins her 400m freestyle heat to advance to the final. #ParisOlympics
📺 USA Network & Peacock pic.twitter.com/sR5ImMm7QR
Women's 400-meter final start time
- Date: Saturday, July 27
- Time: 2:52 p.m. ET
The women's 400-meter freestyle final at the 2024 Olympics is set to start at 2:52 p.m. ET. The race should take about four minutes.
How to watch Katie Ledecky at the Olympics
- TV channels: NBC | USA Network
- Live streams: Fubo | NBCOlympics.com | NBC Sports app | Peacock
NBC and its family of networks will offer daily coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Swimming events will also be available to stream on NBCOlympics.com, the NBC Sports app, Peacock, and Fubo, which is offering a free trial.
MORE: No days off mentality keeps Katie Ledecky on top of her sport
Katie Ledecky swimming schedule
Saturday, July 27
| Event | Time (ET) | TV/live stream |
| Women's 400m Freestyle Heats | 5 a.m. | USA Peacock, Fubo |
| Women's 400m Freestyle Finals | 2:30 p.m. | NBC, Peacock, Fubo |
Tuesday, July 30
| Event | Time (ET) | TV/live stream |
| Women's 1500 Freestyle Heats | 5 a.m. | USA, Peacock, Fubo |
Wednesday, July 31
| Event | Time (ET) | TV/live stream |
| Women's 1500 Freestyle Finals | 2:30 p.m. | NBC, Peacock, Fubo |
Thursday, Aug. 1
| Event | Time (ET) | TV/live stream |
| Women's 4x200 Freestyle Relay Heats | 5 a.m. | USA, Peacock, Fubo |
| Women's 4x200 Freestyle Relay Finals | 2:30 p.m. | NBC, Peacock, Fubo |
Friday, Aug. 2
| Event | Time (ET) | TV/live stream |
| Women's 800m Freestyle Heats | 5 a.m. | USA, Peacock, Fubo |
Saturday, Aug. 3
| Event | Time (ET) | TV/live stream |
| Women's 800m Freestyle Finals | 2:30 p.m. | NBC, Peacock, Fubo |
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