Ariarne Titmus breaks 200m freestyle world record at Australia’s Olympic Trials

Ariarne Titmus and Mollie O’Callaghan both swam incredibly fast times in the women’s 200m freestyle event at the Australian Olympic Trials, making history. Titmus broke the world record with a time of 1 minute, 52.23 seconds, surpassing O’Callaghan’s previous record by 62 hundredths of a second. Titmus expressed her happiness at finally achieving a swim that reflected her training.

O’Callaghan, who also trained under coach Dean Boxall in Brisbane like Titmus, finished with a time of 1:52.48, making her the fourth-fastest woman in history in the event. She made her Olympic debut in Tokyo at 17 and has since won gold and silver at various World Championships. She mentioned that she is still learning and getting used to competing in the 200m freestyle event.

No other active swimmer has ever recorded a 200m freestyle time as fast as Titmus and O’Callaghan. The last time Australian swimmers achieved a one-two finish in an Olympic event was in 2004. Katie Ledecky was the last U.S. woman to win an Olympic or world medal in the 200m freestyle, with gold and silver finishes at various championships.

The U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials will be broadcast live on NBC Sports and Peacock from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.