NANTERRE, France (AP) — Katie Ledecky fired the first salvo in her duel with Ariarne Titmus, posting the fastest time the preliminaries of the women’s 400-meter freestyle Saturday as the swimming competition began at the Paris Olympics.
In one of the most highly anticipated events of the games, Ledecky claimed the prime No. 4 lane for the evening final with a time of 4 minutes, 2.19 seconds.
Titmus, the Australian star know as “The Terminator,” got off to a fast start but couldn’t hold off the hard-charging Ledecky on the final lap. Titmus posted the second-fastest time of the heats in 4:02.46, setting up a side-by-side showdown with the American in the evening final.
“I was happy I got a good first swim under the belt,” Ledecky said.
Titmus is the reigning Olympic champion in the 400 free, knocking off Ledecky at the Tokyo Games three years ago. The Aussie also holds the world record of 3:55.38 — a sign that she’s got a lot left to give in the final.
“It was good just to have a fast swim in the pool, see how it feels, and I’m excited for tonight,” Titmus said.
She didn’t mind finishing behind Ledecky in the prelims.
“The only job for me was just to get in the middle lanes,” Titmus said. “I tried to conserve as much as I could.”
Also keep an eye on Canadian phenom Summer McIntosh, who should be in the medal mix after going 4:02.65 in the prelims for the fourth-fastest time. She was just behind New Zealand’s Erika Fairweather (4:02.55).
Tokyo bronze medalist Li Bingjie and Chinese teammate Liu Yaxin finished ninth and 10th, respectively, and failed to advance to the final. Their team has been under intense scrutiny after reports that nearly two dozen swimmers tested positive for a banned substance before the 2021 Olympics but were not sanctioned.
Ledecky is looking to add to her haul of six individual gold medals — already the most by any female swimmer in Olympic history. She’s a heavy favorite in both the 800 and 1,500 freestyle.
The atmosphere was raucous at La Defense Arena in the western Paris suburbs, where a crowd of some 15,000 packed the indoor stadium that is best known as home of famed rugby club Racing 92.
“I have never swum in front of a huge crowd that’s firing quite like that,” Titmus said. “It’s going to be crazy to see what it’s like tonight for finals.”
Ledecky said the atmosphere reminded her of the U.S. Olympic trials, which were held last month in a huge indoor stadium that is home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.
