Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus swam the second-fastest 400m freestyle of the year on Tuesday, earning her place at next month’s World Championships, as did two other Australian swimming superstars, Emma McKeon and Kaylee McKeown .
Titmus, stripped of her world record by Canadian teenager Summer McIntosh in March, clocked 3:58.47 in Melbourne to easily beat Lani Pallister in Australia’s trials for the World Championships in July. in Fukuoka (Japan).
“It wasn’t the best 400, but all the swims under four minutes are fast swims,” said Titmus, who beat American Katie Ledecky to win gold at the Tokyo Olympics in the distance. two years ago.
McIntosh’s 3:56.08 this year erased the world record of 3:56.40 set by Titmus in 2022, when she herself broke Ledecky’s mark of 3:56.46 set at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
The emergence of the 16-year-old Canadian promises a spectacular 400m clash between the three swimmers next month at Worlds. Titmus will also line up in the 100m, 200m and 800m freestyle in Melbourne.
