Ariarne Titmus comes within 0.11 seconds of beating 200m world record at Australian trials
Ariarne Titmus has narrowly missed the world record as she won the women’s 200-metre freestyle on Monday night at the Australian Olympic swimming trials.
Her time of 1:53.09 was the second-fastest ever for the women’s 200m freestyle and just 0.11 seconds outside the world mark set by Italy’s Federica Pellegrini in 2009, before rubberized swimsuits were banned.
"It's pretty crazy," Titmus said after her incredible effort. "Frederica Pellegrini did that at the World Championships in 2009 with the supersuits and it's a record that's very old.
"I think no one has been close to breaking it in a long time and I knew that if I was able to swim like I wanted to race I had a 1:53 in me but last night's race gave me confidence."
Titmus was backing up a day after her victory in the 400m freestyle in national record time and dealing with shoulder soreness.
Titmus' incredible swim came despite dealing with shoulder soreness in the lead-up to the race Getty
“At the start of the week I was a bit worried," she said. "But I am just managing it as best I can . . . it’s hanging in there, it’s getting the job done.”
The 20-year-old's incredible effort puts the pressure on American star Katie Ledecky, who took home four gold medals in Rio, including in the 200m freestyle where she swam a 1:53.73.
Titmus' incredible effort stunned seven-time Olympic medallist Grant Hackett, who called her "unbelievable" showing "the greatest 200m freestyle swim we have ever seen from a woman".
Kaylee McKeown followed up her world record in the 100-metre backstroke on Sunday by winning the 200-metre individual medley in 2:08.19.
The 19-year-old McKeown said she got about 4 1/2 hours of sleep after her record-breaking night.
Kaylee McKeown continued her brilliant form at the Olympic trials, winning the 200m individual medley Getty
“That is probably the toughest thing I had to overcome this morning, there was a lot of fatigue,” she said. “I just did the best I could recovery-wise. I tried to get to sleep and I couldn’t, the adrenaline was still pumping.
“I went under the qualifying time and a small PB," she said, "So I can’t ask for much more.”
Mack Horton missed another chance to qualify for an individual event in Tokyo when he placed fifth in the 800-metre freestyle in 8 minutes, 0.72 seconds, well behind Jack McLoughlin's winning time of 7:42.51.
Horton won't get a chance to defend his Olympic title in the 400m freestyle after placing third in the Australian trials on the weekend.
