CANBERRA (Xinhua) - Australian prodigy Ariarne Titmus almost has broken the women’s 400m freestyle world record.
Titmus, 20, won the event in 1:53.09 at the Australian Swimming Trials in Adelaide on Monday night, qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics and establishing herself as the woman to beat at the Games.
Her time was only 0.11 seconds slower than the 1:52.98 set by Italy’s Federica Pellegrini in 2009, when the now-banned super suits were allowed.
It came only one night after Titmus swam the second-fastest 400m in history, setting a time only 0.44 seconds slower than American Katie Ledecky’s world record.
Emma McKeon finished second in 1:54.74 after a blistering start, and also qualified for the event in Tokyo.
Six of the eight competitors set times faster than 1:56.30, putting Australia in a strong position for the 4x200m relay in Tokyo.