Katie Ledecky falls short against Ariarne Titmus again in 400-meter freestyle at 2024 Olympics

Fans will have to wait longer for Katie Ledecky to win her first gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The highly decorated swimmer failed to reclaim the gold medal in the women’s 400-meter freestyle on Saturday at Paris La Defense Arena, as Australia’s Ariarne Titmus took home first place again after winning the gold at Tokyo in 2021.

Ledecky, 27, earned bronze Saturday, her 11th Olympics medal.

The Olympics always have a promising showdown between the U.S. and Australia in the pool, and Saturday didn’t disappoint in the race that saw Titmus, 23, lead alongside Canada’s Summer McIntosh, 17, at the start with Ledecky trailing.

However, Ledecky lost too much ground, and Titmus didn’t let up, taking a big lead to defend her gold medal with a time of 3:57.49 while Ledecky finished at 4:00.86.

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“My legs are a bit tired, but I’m just relieved more than anything,” Titmus told reporters after the race. “I probably felt the expectation and pressure for this race more than anything in my life, to be honest, and I’m pretty good at handling the pressure of it.”

Her toughest challenge was McIntosh, who was a top contender to win should Ledecky and Titmus have faltered.

McIntosh finished with silver — her first Olympic medal — with a time of 3:58.37.

It was termed the “Race of the Century” with the generational names taking the pool all together.

It was compared to the 2004 showdown between Michael Phelps, Australian Ian Thorpe and Dutch giant Pieter van den Hoogenband.

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Ledecky has slowly become the underdog in the 400m and it proved itself again on Saturday.

The three stars have spent the past three years trading the world record among one another.

Titmus holds it at 3:55.38, which she recorded in 2023.

“I’m just happy to get the result for myself and I feel so honored to be a part of the race and be alongside legends like Katie,” Titmus said. “I look up to her so much as an athlete and it’s certainly not a rivalry beyond the races. I really respect her as a person.

“I hope that we put on a good show tonight and everyone enjoyed it.”

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Ledecky previously claimed the women’s 400-meter freestyle gold in Brazil in 2016 but fell to silver in Tokyo and also took silver in the 2023 World Championships.

During the women’s 400m freestyle preliminary heats on Saturday morning, Ledecky beat Titmus with a time of 4:02.19 in a side-by-side race.

Titmus finished in 4:02.16 followed by McIntosh in fourth place at 4:02.65.

Titmus earned her third Olympic victory after sweeping the 200m and 400m freestyle in Tokyo, and is expected to do so again in Paris.

Ledecky’s quest for three more gold medals continues, and the Washington, D.C. native’s best events are in front of her.

She now will set her sights toward the 800-meter freestyle, 1500-meter freestyle, and 4×200-meter free relay events. She holds the world record in both the 800m and 1500m races, with significantly more dominance in the latter.

If Ledecky leaves Paris with at least three gold medals, she will have won the most Olympic golds by any female athlete.

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