Ariarne Titmus made waves at Australia’s Olympic swimming trials by breaking the 200-meter freestyle world record in a thrilling race against her compatriot and teammate, Mollie O’Callaghan. The race was so fast that O’Callaghan, the previous world record holder, also surpassed her own landmark time.
Titmus, the reigning Olympic champion in the 200m and 400m freestyle events, achieved a remarkable time of 1:52.23 at the trials in Brisbane. This time was just over half a second faster than O’Callaghan’s previous world record of 1:52.85, which she had set at the world championships the year before.
The 23-year-old Titmus narrowly edged out O’Callaghan, who finished in second place with a time of 1:52.48, also beating her own world record in the process.
Titmus expressed her excitement after the race, stating, “Looking at the results, that’s unbelievable. I’m just happy to finally produce a swim in the 200 that I feel like my training reflects. The field that we have is why we’re swimming so fast; we push each other every day.”
Both Titmus and 20-year-old O’Callaghan train together at St Peter's Western Swim Club under the guidance of coach Dean Boxall. Their friendly rivalry is set to continue at the upcoming Olympics in Paris, scheduled to begin on July 26.
O’Callaghan had clinched the 100m and 200m freestyle titles at the world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, last year, finishing ahead of Titmus in the 200m final. However, after Titmus’s outstanding performance at the trials, she is poised to hold the world records in both the 200m and 400m freestyle events once the former record is officially ratified.
