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TOKYO, JAPAN – JULY 26: Ariarne Titmus of Team Australia and Katie Ledecky of Team United States react after competing in the Women’s 400m Freestyle Final on day three of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre on July 26, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
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TOKYO, JAPAN – JULY 26: Ariarne Titmus of Team Australia and Katie Ledecky of Team United States react after competing in the Women’s 400m Freestyle Final on day three of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre on July 26, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
The 19th Fina World Championships commences on 18th June. In an event that sees some of the best swimmers in the world compete, Katie Ledecky and Caeleb Dressel are superstars of it. On the other hand, there are swimmers outside the USA who performed well during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Despite Ledecky’s dominance in recent Games, Ariarne Titmus is one swimmer who grabbed the headlines.
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She won the gold medal over Ledecky in the 200 and 400-meter events. But, she is pulling herself out of contention for the World Championships.
Ariarne Titmus won’t compete at World Championships
Likewise, seven-time Olympic medalist Emma McKeon and 100-meters freestyle silver medalist Kyle Chalmers won’t feature in the event as well. Swimming Australia confirmed their absence from the Championships. Instead, the trio is focusing on Commonwealths in Birmingham, in July and August, according to News Corp on Friday. Most importantly, it is the first year since 1998 that both the World Championships and Commonwealth Games are held in the same year.
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TOKYO, JAPAN – JULY 31: Silver medalist Ariarne Titmus of Team Australia poses during the medal ceremony for the Women’s 800m Freestyle Final at Tokyo Aquatics Centre on July 31, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
Either they can compete at both these events in seven weeks or choose one of them. Even though Australian swimmers had two major international meets in an even, non-Olympic year, Titmus and co. are opting out of the Championships. Thus, a showdown between the two incredible rivals won’t take place in the upcoming World Championships.
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The duo met at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics last year, and their intriguing matchup was great to watch. Notably, their next meeting will only happen during the 2023 World Championships.
An incredible competitor for Katie Ledecky
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It all started during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Titmus won the 200m freestyle while the 400m was an inch by inch battle for supremacy. During the 2010 World Championships in Gwangju, Titmus shocked Ledecky to win the 400m. After that, Ledecky scored a victory in the 800m with Titmus finishing second while she wrapped up the Olympics with a gold in the 1500m freestyle.
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TOKYO, JAPAN – JULY 28: Katie Ledecky of Team United States celebrates after winning the Women’s 1500m Freestyle Final on day five of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre on July 28, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
To sum up, it will be a huge miss for both of them to not meet up. A battle between Titmus and Ledecky is one of the ages, as both these swimmers compete at the highest level. It would have been great for her to compete in Hungary.
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