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Katie Ledecky is one of the most popular female swimmers of recent times. Hailing from America, the swimmer has ten Olympic medals to her name, the first of which she won back at the 2012 Summer Olympics when she was only fifteen years of age.
Ariarne Titmus is a rising Australian swimmer who has come to the scene a bit later compared to Katie. She is three and a half years younger than Katie and has won four medals at her very first Olympic Games, ie. 2020 Summer Olympics.
Katie Ledecky and Ariarne Titmus’s rivalry in swimming
Both swimmers have often been compared based on their performances over the years. They have a healthy rivalry between them and have often appreciated one another’s performances on air.
In an exclusive interview with Olympic Channel, Ariarne revealed how she felt when she swam past the American swimmer and clinched the gold medal in the 400 meter freestyle category at the 2019 World Championships:
"I still remember touching the wall and it was so exciting. It wasn't the fact that I'd beaten Katie, it was the fact that I'd won. I think everyone that's a swimmer dreams of becoming a world champion and to be that year crowned the best in the world was something that I was really proud of."
When she gave the interview, the 2020 Summer Olympics was right around the corner. After beating her at the 2019 World Championships, she even looked forward to a "great battle" with Ledecky.
"I mean, obviously, everyone out there in women's middle distance freestyle probably dreams of beating Katie. […] I thought maybe this year at the Olympics it would be, you know, a really great battle between us."
Sure enough, it truly was a great battle between the two, and Titmus was successful in swimming past Ledecky in the 400 meter freestyle, a category that Katie is renowned for. The Australian swimmer also claimed another gold medal in the 200 meter freestyle.
In the 2016 Summer Olympics, Katie Ledecky won gold medals in both of the above categories, but at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she won silver medals in both since the gold medals were claimed by Ariarne Titmus.
However, the American swimmer remains the reigning Olympic champion in the 800 meter freestyle, where she won gold medals in 2012, 2016, and 2021.Titmus won the silver medal in the same category at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
After her experience competing alongside Katie Ledecky at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Ariarne said:
"Well, firstly, I think it's such a huge honour. I remember watching Katie swim in Rio. To think four years later that I would be the person that's battling it out with her is so crazy to me. But, you know, I know I've worked to get here. But I think that that does actually add a little bit more pressure."
Recently, Titmus even broke Ledecky’s world record at the Australian Swimming Trials. She completed the 400 meter freestyle race in 3:56:40 seconds. Katie Ledecky created the world record at the 2016 Rio Olympics when she finished the race in 3:56:40 seconds.
