Titmus dethrones Ledecky, wins gold in 400 free

TOKYO — The Terminator knocked off Katie Ledecky at the Tokyo Olympics.

Australia’s Ariarne Titmus chased down Ledecky to win the women’s 400-meter freestyle, one of the most anticipated races of the Summer Games, capturing the gold medal with the second-fastest time in history on Monday.

Titmus, who trailed by nearly a full body length at the halfway mark of the eight-lap race, turned on the speed to touch in 3 minutes, 56.69 seconds.

Ledecky was the defending Olympic champion and world-record holder. She settled for the silver this time in 3:57.36 — the fourth-fastest time ever recorded.

Easing a little of the sting for Team USA following Ledecky’s loss was a victory in the men’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay. The American men were led off by Caeleb Dressel, who began his quest for six gold medals in swimming by winning his first on Monday.

“I fought tooth and nail,” Ledecky said of Titmus. “She definitely swam a really smart race. She was really controlled up front. I felt pretty smooth and strong going out and flipped at the 300 and it was like, ‘Oh, she’s right there.'”

And then Titmus was gone.

For the first time in her brilliant Olympic career, Ledecky felt the sting of defeat, dished out by a rival from Down Under who made it clear she was not intimidated by the American star.

“It’s surreal,” Titmus said. “Crazy when you make this massive plan for something. It’s probably the biggest thing you could pull off in your sporting career, so I’m over the moon.”

No one else was even close. The bronze went to China’s Li Bingjie in 4:01.08.

Then the spotlight shifted to Dressel, who has been hailed as the successor to Michael Phelps.

Dressel put the U.S. out front, and the three who followed him in the relay made sure it stood up.

“I felt good the whole way. I knew I had to get my hand in the wall first and get some clean water,” Dressel said. “And everyone did their job. It’s a relay for a reason; it’s four guys for a reason. It’s certainly not just me. It’s certainly not just one guy.”

The 24-year-old Floridian swam the first leg in a blistering 47.26. Blake Pieroni and Bowe Becker kept the Americans out front before Zach Apple turned in an anchor leg of 46.69 to leave no doubt at the end.

The U.S. won in 3:08.97, the third-fastest time in history. Italy took the silver in 3:10.11, with the bronze going to Australia in 3:10.22.

“The scariest part was my leg for myself, because I had control over that,” Dressel said. “I knew they were going to get the job done; I wasn’t scared at all. Especially when Zach hit the water. I saw him break out and I knew it was over.”

Apple climbed from the pool to an embrace from Dressel, who is set for a grueling schedule of three individual events and three relays in Tokyo. One down, five to go.

Ledecky’s disappointment was a downer for the Americans, who won six of 12 medals on Sunday but were shut out of the medals in the first two finals on Monday.

Torri Huske and Michael Andrew just missed out with fourth-place finishes, then it was Ledecky settling for the second spot on the podium — a very unfamiliar place for perhaps the greatest women’s freestyle swimmer in history.

Ledecky lost an individual Olympic final for the first time after winning the 800 free at the 2012 London Games, then capturing three more golds, in the 200, 400 and 800 free, at the Rio de Janeiro Games five years ago.

“I knew it was going to be a battle to the end,” Ledecky said. “I didn’t feel like I died. She just had that faster 50 or 75. Can’t get much better than that.”

Titmus was every bit the Terminator at the end.

“Honestly, at the 200, I was a little bit worried,” the Aussie swimmer said. “I knew she would be there. No one is going to come to the Olympics and catch a Katie Ledecky unprepared. I guess I just had to trust myself.

“I tried to stay as composed as I could and use the easy speed that I have. And to pull it off in the back end against someone who has an amazing second half of her race, I’m really proud of that. ”

Ledecky will get another crack at Titmus in the 200 free, and the American is heavily favored to repeat in the 800 and add another gold in the 1,500 — a new event for the women at these games.

After racing each other right in the middle of the pool, the swimmers clasped hands when it was over. They climbed out of the pool together, giving each other a hug.

“I just thanked her,” Titmus said. “I wouldn’t be here without her. She’s set this standard for middle-distance freestyle. If I didn’t have someone like her to chase, I definitely wouldn’t be swimming the way I am.”

Perhaps the surest bet at the pool, Britain’s Adam Peaty repeated as Olympic champion in the men’s 100 breaststroke.

Peaty is the world-record holder and the first man to break both 58 and 57 seconds in his signature event. He posted the fifth-fastest time in history (57.37) to blow away the field.

Arno Kamminga of the Netherlands claimed the silver in 58.00, while the bronze went to Italy’s Nicolo Martinenghi in 58.33. Andrew was next in 58.84.

Maggie MacNeil captured Canada’s first gold medal at the pool with a victory in the women’s 100 butterfly.

The reigning world champion touched first in 55.59, edging out Zhang Yufei of China (55.64) for the top spot. Emma McKeon of Australia took the bronze in 55.72, beating the 18-year-old Huske by one-hundredth of a second.

Huske went out fast, as is her style, and appeared to be close to the front with about 10 meters to go. But she faded on her final strokes and just missed a spot on the podium.

Defending champion and world-record holder Sarah Sjöström of Sweden was seventh.

The American team’s six Sunday medals were more than the U.S. ever won on the first day during Michael Phelps’ stellar career, which encompassed the past five Olympics.

Phelps retired from competition after the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, and he is doing commentary at these Olympics.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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