NANTERRE, France — Bethesda native Katie Ledecky fired the first salvo in her duel with Ariarne Titmus, posting the fastest time the preliminaries of the women’s 400-meter freestyle Saturday as the swimming competition began at the Paris Olympics.
In one of the most highly anticipated events of the games, Ledecky claimed the prime No. 4 lane for the evening final with a time of 4 minutes, 2.19 seconds.
Titmus, the Australian star know as “The Terminator,” got off to a fast start but couldn’t hold off the hard-charging Ledecky on the final lap. Titmus posted the second-fastest time of the heats in 4:02.46, setting up a side-by-side showdown with the American in the evening final.
“I was happy I got a good first swim under the belt,” Ledecky said.
Titmus is the reigning Olympic champion in the 400 free, knocking off Ledecky at the Tokyo Games three years ago. The Aussie also holds the world record of 3:55.38 - a sign that she’s got a lot left to give in the final.
“It was good just to have a fast swim in the pool, see how it feels, and I’m excited for tonight,” Titmus said.
She didn’t mind finishing behind Ledecky in the prelims.
“The only job for me was just to get in the middle lanes,” Titmus said. “I tried to conserve as much as I could.”
Also keep an eye on Canadian phenom Summer McIntosh, who should be in the medal mix after going 4:02.65 in the prelims for the fourth-fastest time. She was just behind New Zealand’s Erika Fairweather (4:02.55).
Tokyo bronze medalist Li Bingjie and Chinese teammate Liu Yaxin finished ninth and 10th, respectively, and failed to advance to the final. Their team has been under intense scrutiny after reports that nearly two dozen swimmers tested positive for a banned substance before the 2021 Olympics but were not sanctioned.
Ledecky is looking to add to her haul of six individual gold medals - already the most by any female swimmer in Olympic history. She’s a heavy favorite in both the 800 and 1,500 freestyle.
The atmosphere was raucous at La Defense Arena in the western Paris suburbs, where a crowd of some 15,000 packed the indoor stadium that is best known as home of famed rugby club Racing 92.
“I have never swum in front of a huge crowd that’s firing quite like that,” Titmus said. “It’s going to be crazy to see what it’s like tonight for finals.”
Ledecky said the atmosphere reminded her of the U.S. Olympic trials, which were held last month in a huge indoor stadium that is home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.
China’s Zhang Yufei was fastest in the prelims of the women’s 100 butterfly at 56.50, while world record-holder Gretchen Walsh of the United States moved on to the semifinals with the fourth-best time of 56.75. Zhang was the silver medalist in this event at the Tokyo Olympics.
Zhang said through a translator that the Chinese were tested extensively before the Games and she hopes that erases any doubts about whether they are racing clean. Nearly two dozen elite Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned substance ahead of the Tokyo Games - and were allowed to compete with no ramifications.
Japan’s Mizuki Hirai was second in 56.71, just ahead of American Torri Huske (56.72). Australia’s Emma McKeon, who claimed a staggering seven medals in Tokyo, was fifth in 56.79 and defending gold medalist Maggie Mac Neil advanced to the semifinals with the seventh-best time (57.00)
British star Adam Peaty, returning from a long layoff to deal with mental health issues, signaled that he’s got a shot at a third straight gold in the men’s 100 breaststroke. The British star put up a time of 59.18 that left him just behind top qualifier Casper Corbeau of the Netherlands (59.04). American captain Nic Fink advanced in the 10th spot at 59.66.
In the men’s 400 freestyle, the last three worlds champions all pushed through to the evening final. Australians Elijah Winnington (3:44.87) and Sam Short (3:44.88) were fourth and fifth, while South Korea’s Kim Woo-min squeezed by in seventh at 3:45.52. Germany’s Lukas Maertens was the top qualifier in 3:44.13.
Kim was at the center of a controversy on the Australian team after one of their coaches said he was pulling for the South Korean to win gold.
Michael Palfrey has previously worked with Kim, but Aussie head coach Rohan Taylor said it was “un-Australian” for any of his assistants to be supporting another country’s swimmer.
As expected, Australia took the top spot in the preliminaries of the women’s 4x100 freestyle relay, nearly 2 seconds ahead of the four American swimmers. The Aussies are three-time reigning gold medalists in the event and a heavy favorite to make it four in a row.
In the men’s 4x100 free relay, China led the way in the preliminaries (3:31.57), followed by Australia (3:12.25), Britain (3:12.49) and the U.S. (3:12.61).
The Aussies and Americans swam side-by-side in the second heat, which the U.S. led going to the anchor leg only to have Kyle Chalmers chase down Caeleb Dressel, the winner of five gold medals at the Tokyo Games.
Dressel won gold in the 100 freestyle at the last Summer Games, with Chalmers settling for silver. They won’t get to race again in that event at Paris after Dressel failed to qualify with a third-place showing at the U.S. trials.
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