400 metres Freestyle, Women

This was the most anticipated race of the Paris 2024 Olympic swimming programme, and was being heralded as the female Race of the Century, expected to rival the famed 2004 men’s 200 metre freestyle, in which Ian Thorpe (AUS) outdueled Michael Phelps (USA) and Pieter van den Hoogenband (NED).

The 400 freestyle was the first women’s final of the Paris swimming programme, and brought together the last two Olympic Champions in Ariarne Titmus (AUS), who won in 2020, and Katie Ledecky (USA), the 2016 gold medalist. The other member of the triumvirate was Canadian Summer McIntosh. The three had set the last six world records. Ledecky had three of them, with her last world mark set in winning the 2016 gold medal. Titmus then broke that record in 2022, followed by McIntosh breaking it in 2023 at the Canadian World Championship Trials, and finally Titmus reclaiming the world record at the 2023 World Championships.

The three favorites all qualified easily for the final, with Ledecky leading the qualifiers at 4:02.19, followed by Titmus. McIntosh qualified fourth, behind New Zealand’s Erika Fairweather. In the final, Ariarne Titmus apparently did not receive word that this was supposed to be a close race. She took the lead on the first lap and never let it go, being out-split on only one of the eight 50-metre laps. By 200 metres, Ledecky was out of the gold medal chase. McIntosh was still close at that point, but Titmus would then start to gradually pull away from her and defend her gold medal easily, with McIntosh taking silver and Ledecky bronze, as Fairweather took fourth. Titmus finished in 3:57.49, the ninth fastest performance ever, and one bettered only by herself, McIntosh, and Ledecky.

Titmus became only the second swimmer to defend gold in the women’s 400 free, going back almost a century to American Martha Norelius, who won in 1924-1928. Before Titmus, the last Australian women to defend an Olympic gold medal was Dawn Fraser, in the 100 freestyle in 1956-1964.