Titmus’ 3:56.90 Nearly Takes Down Ledecky’s 400 Free World Record – SwimSwam

SWIMMING AUSTRALIA OLYMPIC TRIALS

• Saturday, June 12th – Thursday, June 17th
• South Australia Aquatic & Leisure Centre, Adelaide, Australia
• Sole Olympic-Qualifying Opportunity
• 2021 Swimming Australia Olympic Nomination Criteria
• Meet Site
• Final Start List
• Live Results
• Qualifying Criteria
• Day 2 Finals Live Stream (Amazon Prime required)

Australia’s Ariarne Titmus produced another big statement swim, nearly knocking off American Olympic icon Katie Ledecky‘s World Record in the women’s 400m freestyle.

While racing on day 2 of the Australian Olympic Trials, 20-year-old Titmus scorched the field with a monster mark of 3:56.90, a time that sits just .44 outside of Ledecky’s 3:56.46 WR produced at the 2016 Olympic Games.

Titmus is a fierce competitor, trained by St. Peters Western’s dynamic coach Dean Boxall. Aside from domestic glory, Titmus’ major claim to fame was the fact she beat Ledecky in this 400m free at the 2019 FINA World Championships, becoming the first woman to get to the wall ahead of Ledecky in a distance event at a major international competition.

Entering this meet, Titmus’ lifetime best rested at 3:58.76, which is what it took to beat Ledecky in Gwangju. That performance ranked as the 8th fastest swim of all time, as well as the Australian and Oceanic Record. With her result here, however, Titmus’s 3:56.90 now ranks as the 2nd fastest performance ever with Tokyo just weeks away.

As a reminder, Titmus has been dealing with shoulder issues as of late, as we previewed heading into this meet. Titmus raced at the  Aussie National Championships this past April winning the women’s 200m free in 1:55.43, the 400m free in 4:01.34 and the 800m free in 8:23.13 in addition to placing 7th in the 100m free in 54.36. She was also set to compete at the Sydney Open last month but withdrew from her events.

Ledecky most recently raced at the Pro Swim Series in Mission Viejo, clocking a time of 3:59.25.

Post-race here, Titmus was all smiles and clearly emotional at the realization that she has become an Olympian. She has the 200m free and 800m free yet to swim at these Trials as well.

400m Freestyle Split Comparisons:

• Ledecky’s 3:56.46
  • 57.05/1:00.06/1:00.51/58.84
• Titmus’ 3:58.76
  • 57.12/1:00.60/1:00.73/1:00.31
• Titmus’ 3:56.90
  • 57.31/1:00.18/1:0.28/59.13

Partial race video and top 3 finishers’ results below:

SHE IS A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH 🙌

Ariarne Titmus sets a new Commonwealth and Australian Record in the 400m Freestyle – going under World Record pace 3:56.90 – under qualifying time!#2021AusTrials pic.twitter.com/iCckXj40pm

— Swimming Australia (@SwimmingAUS) June 13, 2021