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Australia's Ariarne Titmus overcame the American challenge from Katie Ledecky to claim gold in the 400-meter freestyle event. The Australian is just 20 years old and is making her Summer Games debut at the 2021 Olympics.
The Tasmanian has had a stellar career on the junior circuit and the gold in Tokyo has set her up to become one of the aces in Australian swimming. Here are a few things you didn't know about the Australian swimming sensation.
Check Out: Tokyo Olympics 2021 Schedule
# 1 Ariarne Titmus was not the best swimmer when she started
Ariarne Titmus is a 400-meter champion freestyle swimmer. This event requires tremendous strength and stamina. However, Ariarne was not the strongest when she started swimming. Her small frame meant that she would have to put in more work to develop strength in her limbs. The Australian didn't back out of that challenge. She worked hard on herself and became one of the best swimmers in the 400 meter freestyle event.
Check Out: Tokyo Olympics Swimming Schedule
In an interview with the Olympic channel, Ariarne Titmus said," When I was younger, people never thought that I would be successful in swimming. So I think if you believe you can do it. Train hard and be dedicated."
# 2 How many medals has Ariarne Titmus won in her career?
Ariarne Titmus won the World Championships in the 400 meter freestyle event at Gwangju. She also added 3 other medals at the same competition. In the short course events at the 2018 Hangzhou World Championships Titmus claimed 4 medals, including 2 gold and 2 bronze medals. She also had a gold fest at the 2018 Gold Coast games, where she bagged 3 gold and 1 silver medal.
# 3 Ariarne Titmus defeated Katie Ledecky to win the Olympic gold?
Ariarne Titmus claimed the World Championships by beating American swimming legend Katie Ledecky. A repeat of this was to be seen at the Olympics 2021, making it Ledecky's second defeat since 2013. This time yet again Ariarne Titmus got the better of the American on the grandest sporting stage. She completed the race in 3:56:69 to win Olympic gold.
Ledecky, on the other hand, was less than a minute short as she completed her race in 3:57.36 to settle for silver. After comfortably leading for the first 300 meters, the American was surprised by Ariarne's response. This is the first time that Ledecky has ever lost in an individual event at the Olympics.
# 4 Ariarne Titmus and her best performances
Ariarne Titmus had her best performance at the Olympic games. She finished her race in 3:56.69 to finish first. It was the second best timing ever in the 400 meter event, behind Katie Ledecky's jaw-dropping 3:56.46. Ariarne previously also came close to the record, as she clocked 3:56.90 at the Australian trials.
# 5 Ariarne Titmus listens to rock music before all races
Ariarne Titmus is always very motivated to win. She revealed that it's rock music that gets her in the zone to go out there and give her best.
While talking about what she listens to before a game, Titmus said to the Olympic channel that," I'm not usually a rock music fan, but for some reason listening to it loud before I race kind of just gets me going."
Also Read: Who is Zhang Yufei? Net worth, records & Olympic performances
