The Paris La Defense Arena witnessed something today that had seemed unthinkable since 2019. After 4 long years and one Olympic, Katie Ledecky overpowered Ariarne Titmus today in the 400m free heat at the Paris Olympics. The anticipation had been visible at the well-decorated arena because of Heat 3, which was overly stacked with Katie, Ariarne, and the Chinese superstar Li Bingjie.

But the Team USA swimming skipper utilized 4:02.19 to defeat the Dolphin’s superjet. Remember, Ariarne pipped Katie in Tokyo to take the 400m free gold home. But not today! Not at least in the heat (brace yourself as the final is scheduled tonight)!

Today, Arirane’s final time was 4:02.46 seconds, which gave her the second rank and qualified her for the upcoming final. However, on another Heat, Canadian phenom Summer McIntosh accomplished her qualification for the final. But on the prime list, she had to settle for the fourth position, just behind Australia’s Erika Fairweather. Eventually, she will also take to the pool tonight to throw her challenge.

Another American swimmer, Paige Madden, earned the qualification after getting the sixth rank on the top list. Eventually, for the 400m free final tonight, Katie and Ariarne will start the race at the adjacent lane—a treat to watch for all the swimming fans, giving almost a similar vibe as it was in Tokyo. And today the head-to-head between them almost pulled a repeat telecast as it had been there years ago. 

In today’s 400m free Heat, Ariarne Titmus gathered an extra pace to keep herself ahead of her American rival. But Katie, at 27, did not lose her breath as she kept continuing her consistent movement. However, at the final 50 meters, the reigning Olympic champion felt like losing momentum as Bethesda born gained the distance. Now, after defeating her top rival, Katie Ledecky will look to extend her successful run, as, after the Rio Olympics, she failed to create magic in the event. Meanwhile, both Ariarne Titmus and Summer McIntosh will aim for the same. In fact, for them, the stakes are high.

Katie Ledecky will look to break the 400m free jinx 

Three years ago, Katie Ledecky fared incredibly well, as her timing of 3:57.36 stood tall in front of her gold-winning performance in the Rio Olympics. Still, Ariarne Titmus’ last-second pace had no reply from the ten-time Olympic medalist. That gave an enormous boost to the Canadian invincible Summer McIntosh to put her head between the swimming rivalry of the US-American. In the post-Tokyo Olympics era, McIntosh has gone neck-to-neck with Ariarne, edging Katie Ledecky. 

In 2023, the Dolphin left her two rivals quite behind as she set the world record (3:55.38). However, Summer did her best as she chased Ariarne with the timing of 3:56.08. The feat felt stunning because of the Canadian swimmer’s age (she was just 16 years old). In the meantime, Katie Ledecky couldn’t lower her timing to less than 3:58. This year as well, Ariarne Titmus continued her chariot of victory by posting the world-leading timing (3:55.44) in the 400m free event in women’s category. So, today’s achievement might inspire the American legend to give her extra in the upcoming final. She already added a few words just before appearing at the event. 

In the pre-match press conference, Katie Ledecky showered praises on both Summer and Ariarne. But she did not count herself out. In displaying her mindset, she commented, “What Ariarne and Summer have done is amazing, and Paige (Madden) is doing really well so it’s going to be a really fast field and I’m really looking forward to it.” So, let’s wait for a few more hours to witness the final seal on this fabled rivalry in the water.