Ariarne Titmus claims silver as Ledecky can't be stopped on the way to triple 800m crown

Ed Chisholm

Ariarne Titmus claims silver as Ledecky can't be stopped on the way to triple 800m crown image

A personal best and Commonwealth record time wasn't quite enough for Ariarne Titmus to trump triple champion and rival Katie Ledecky in the 800m Women's Freestyle final.

The silver medal takes the 20-year-old's total tally in Tokyo to four, to go with her golds in the 200m and 400m Freestyle and bronze in the 4x200m Freestyle relay.

Chasing her third 800m Olympic gold in a race she's proven practically unbeatable in, Ledecky led straight from the first dive as Titmus trailed closely in second throughout.

While it's become her trademark, Titmus wasn't able to mow Ledecky down on the final two laps as she did in both the 200m and 400m finals, as she finished with a personal best time of 8:13.83, behind the champion American's 8:12.57.

Italy's Simona Quadarella claimed bronze while the other Australian in the field, Kiah Melverton, finished in sixth.

Only Ledecky has ever swum a better time than Titmus produced in the pool on Saturday in Tokyo, the American holding the 23 fastest times in the event's history and still maintaining the Olympic record time of 8:04.79 which she set in Rio five years ago.

"The 800 is the one that was kind of like a bonus, this is a much tougher field for me," Titmus said after the race.

"I knew I had to hurt tonight ... I tried to reel her back in at the end, I did my best, I'm pretty happy with a PB."

The silver medal in the 800m Freestyle final completes a remarkable maiden Olympic campaign for Titmus and continues what is sure to be remembered as an iconic career in the pool.

 

Ed Chisholm

Ed Chisholm Photo

Ed Chisholm is a content producer for Sporting News Australia.