Heading into the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, a lot of the focus was on 22-year-old Ariane Titmus of Launceston, Australia. There was great reason. On Sunday, the reigning Olympic gold medalist in the women’s 400 metre freestyle swimming competition got her world record back in the event by winning gold at the World Championships with a time of 3:55.38. In all, there were three world records set this past weekend, as Leon Marchand of France had a world record time of 4:02.50 in the men’s 400 metre individual medley, and Team Australia won gold in the women’s 4×100 metre freestyle relay with a time of 3:27.96.
On Wednesday, there were expectations that Titmus might just set a new world record in the women’s 200 metre freestyle swimming event. The previous world record was held by Federica Pellegrini of Italy, who posted a winning time of 1:52.98 at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships in Rome. Titmus had not broken the 1:53.00 barrier in her career, but came close when she set the Commonwealth record with a time of 1:53.09 at the 2021 Australian Swimming Trials in Adelaide.
It was not Titmus who was the Australian star in the women’s 200 metre free. By having a string finish, it was 19-year-old Mollie O’Callaghan of Logan, Australia who shocked the world with a world record time of 1:52.85. Titmus set a personal best with a time of 1:53.01, but was 0.16 seconds slower than the Australian teenage phenom. Speaking of teenage phenoms, Summer McIntosh of Canada set the World Junior Record with a time of 1:53.65 in winning bronze.
O’Callaghan meanwhile was part of the Australian team that set the world record in the women’s 4×100 metre freestyle relay. She swam alongside Shayna Jack of Sunnybank, Meg Harris of Brisbane, and Emma McKeon of Wollongong. In all, O’Callaghan now has two Olympic gold medals and five gold medals at the World Aquatics Championships, and is still only 19!
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
