Not Katie Ledecky, but 19YO That Clinched Gold, Sends Out a ‘Record’ Message to Ariane Titmus 8 Months Before Paris Olympics

The World Aquatics Swimming World Cup 2023 has commenced marking the last international highlight of the 2023 swimming season. On the very first day of the championship, Berlin witnessed athletes nabbing wins and creating world records. The entire swimming community was left in awe after Erika Fairweather gave an elegant performance at the Women’s 400m Freestyle. She just declared herself as an underdog creating a world championship record getting close to Ariarne Titmus’ previous record made at the 2022 Australian Swimming Championship.

Clinching gold, the New Zealand swimmer has made her way to the Paris Olympics 2024. Now, shockingly it’s not Katie Ledecky, but Fairweather who has sent out the signal of being a tough competition against Titmus who is one of the world’s greatest ever female middle-distance swimmers. All the spectators are on their toes now eagerly awaiting the Olympic showdown to take place.

Erika Fairweather’s exceptional performance at the 2023 Swimming World Cup 

Erika Fairweather is a New Zealand swimmer who competed at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships and the 2020 Summer Olympics. From breaking her New Zealand record at the 2023 World Aquatics Championship to getting close to Ariarne Titmus’ world record at the 2023 Swimming World Cup, she has come a long way. With her absolutely beautiful performance and beating some of the top athletes, she has proved her worth.

Marking the start of the Women’s 400m Freestyle, Fairweather jumped into the pool with her eyes set on the prize. By accomplishing her goal, not only did she clinch gold, but also created a new world championship record with a time of 4:01.09. Behind her was Lani Pallister representing Australia at 4:02.07, and in the third position was Haughey Bernadette with a time of 4:05.30. Facing a rough start to the finals, the USA’s Claire Weinstein was in the eighth position at 4:18.56.

However, the entire spotlight was on New Zealand. After such a stupendous performance, is Fairweather next in line after Katie Ledecky and Ariarne Titmus?

Ariarne Titmus’s commendable world record at the 2022 Australian Swimming Championships

How do you increase the popularity of swimming? Just ask Ariarne Titmus. She is one of the legends in this realm. Her performance and her grace are unbeatable. The Tasmanian made the world aware of her talent for the first time in December 2018 when she created a new women’s short course 400m freestyle world record.

In the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games she performed in style and defeated another icon Katie Ledecky in the 400m freestyle clinching gold and creating a new Olympic record of 1:53:50. Again, keeping Ledecky’s former mark on target, at the 2022 Australian Swimming Championships, Titmus surpassed her by +0.6s. She created a new 400m freestyle world record with a time of 3:56:40.

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Now in the finals of World Aquatics Swimming World Cup, apart from Katie Ledecky, a new swimmer is in line for the world record competition. Erika Fairweather by creating a new world cup record at the 400m freestyle has given a subtle hint of competition in the Paris Olympics 2024 to the legends Ledecky and Titmus. Are you excited to witness one of the most exceptional face-off between the legends and the underdog.

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