Titmus wins women’s 400m freestyle gold, creates world record at Swimming Championships

Titmus came home in 3 min, 55.38 sec, finishing ahead of American Katie Ledecky on 3:58.73 and New Zealand’s Erika Fairweather on 3:59.59.

Ariarne Titmus of Australia celebrates after creating a world record during the Women’s 400m Freestyle finals at the World Swimming Championships. | Photo Credit: AP

Ariarne Titmus reclaimed her 400m freestyle world record and took gold after a dominant win over rivals Katie Ledecky and Summer McIntosh at the world championships on Sunday.

Titmus came home in 3 min, 55.38 sec to take back the record that McIntosh had wrested from her in March this year.

Ledecky finished the race second in 3:58.73 but McIntosh could only place fourth, with New Zealand’s Erika Fairweather taking third in 3:59.59.

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The race was one of the most hotly anticipated of the world championships on the opening night in the southern Japanese city of Fukuoka.

It pitted Olympic champion Titmus against world record-holder McIntosh and defending world champion Ledecky. But Titmus led the race from start to finish, breaking McIntosh’s previous benchmark of 3:56.08.

Titmus had added a little spice to the build-up by questioning McIntosh’s ability to handle the pressure of the big occasion.

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Ledecky had laid down a marker earlier in the day, finishing fastest in the morning heats ahead of Titmus and McIntosh. Ledecky was aiming to add to her 19 world titles, already a record for a woman.