SYDNEY:
Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus is gearing up for some blisteringly fast races at next year’s Paris Games and thinks everyone on the podium in the 400m freestyle will swim well under four minutes.
The 22-year-old Australian won one of her two golds in the 400 at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, beating Katie Ledecky by less than a second and breaking the American world record of three minutes 56.40 seconds last May.
Although Italy’s Federica Pellegrini first broke the four-minute barrier to win the 2009 world title, there has never been a top-three finish in a major global long-distance championship.
Titmus thinks that will change next July when he renews his rivalry with Ledecky and other leading freestylers in one of the highlights of swimming competition at the La Defense Arena. “There’s some really fast swimming going on right now,” Titmus told reporters ahead of the New South Wales Open on Friday.
“It shows that the world of swimming is moving in the right direction. Next year my races will be major events.
They will be packed, especially the 400 freestyle. “All three women on this podium are good and I believe they will be under four minutes.”
Titmus, also the Olympic 200 freestyle champion, skipped last year’s world championships to prepare for the Commonwealth Games, where she defended her 400 title and won three more gold medals.
He plans to be at the next edition in Fukuoka, Japan, in July, but his presence at the Sydney Olympic Park this weekend is also part of his preparations for his trip to Paris next year. “It turns around very quickly,” Titmus said.
“It gives you a sense of where you need to be or where you’re in a good place. This is the main reason why we came here to compete.”
