Thorpe marvels after Titmus 'obliterated' world's best

1 year ago 137

By Simon Brunsdon and Chris De Silva

Australian swimming fable Ian Thorpe has marvelled astatine the show of Ariarne Titmus aft she reclaimed her throne arsenic the queen of the 400m freestyle.

Titmus shattered a satellite grounds to bushed rivals Katie Ledecky and Summer McIntosh astatine the World Aquatics Championships.

The gathering betwixt Titmus, Ledecky and McIntosh, who had broken Titmus' aged 400m satellite grounds earlier this year, was 1 of the astir anticipated races successful years, but the Aussie proved herself to beryllium a people supra her rivals.

Titmus swam an unthinkable 3:55.38 successful Fukuoka, smashing McIntosh's erstwhile record, while Ledecky finished 2nd successful 3:58.73 with bronze for Erika Fairweather of New Zealand successful 3:59.59. McIntosh was 4th successful 3:59.94.

Thorpe reacts to Titmus success

"Arnie (Titmus) looked fantastic successful the heats, but didn't cognize what she would beryllium capable to bash erstwhile it came to the final," Thorpe told Nine's Today.

"She's up against the 2 fastest swimmers that she's ever competed against... and Arnie was capable to amusement up and present a show that truly obliterated the remainder of the field.

"We've won 4 golden medals... with Paris lone a twelvemonth away, we should beryllium getting pumped astir it."

Following the race, Titmus declared the triumph the "most satisfying" of her career.

Titmus' long-time American rival Katie Ledecky stood nary accidental successful the 400m freestyle last successful Fukuoka (Clive Rose via Getty Images)

"I was conscionable truly excited for this race," she told Nine.

"I've enactment successful a batch of enactment successful the past six weeks that I've been blessed with. I took a batch distant from the trials. I didn't aquatics the mode I wanted to, but I knew I had a batch of clip to effort and crook it around.

"I conscionable came successful contiguous and tried to contention similar I was fearless and contention similar I'm that small miss again and it paid off."

Titmus admitted she wanted to enactment unit connected some Ledecky and McIntosh close from the starting gun.

Previous satellite grounds holder Summer McIntosh failed to decorativeness connected the podium successful a disappointing show (Clive Rose via Getty Images)

"Summer and Katie are some people acts and there's hardly immoderate faults successful their racing truthful I knew the lone mode to effort and instrumentality the triumph was to instrumentality it retired and whoever had the astir combat successful the extremity and whoever had the champion near successful the vessel was the 1 that was going to drawback the wall," she said.

"I conscionable had to truly spell for it."

Titmus' manager Dean Boxall was afloat of emotion aft her win, emulating his celebrated solemnisation from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

"It's beryllium a pugnacious twelvemonth for america and I consciousness similar it's each travel unneurotic astatine the cleanable moment," Titmus said.

"He (Boxall) has truly helped maine done this twelvemonth and, yeah, it conscionable means a lot. I consciousness similar this triumph is astir apt my astir satisfying. So this is great."

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