Sporting sensation Ariarne Titmus wows fans with ‘impressive’ world record swim

In a stunning display of sporting prowess, swimming sensation Ariarne Titmus made history on Wednesday, June 12, at Australia’s Olympic swimming trials by smashing the 200m freestyle world record.

The 23-year-old finished the race in a remarkable time of 1:52.23, bettering fellowing Aussie sensation Mollie O’Callaghan’s previous time of 1:52.85 during last year’s world championships.

O’Callaghan also made her mark in the pool on Wednesday during the 200m freestyle, eclipsing her previous mark and finishing in 1:52.48 – the second-fastest time in history.

Following her latest effort, Titmus now holds the 200m and 400m freestyle world records and is the reigning Olympic champion in both events.

“Honestly, the world record is a bonus,” she said.

“I am happy to finally put together a swim that I know I’m capable of and it’s exciting to do it in my home town.”

ARNIE TAKES THE WORLD RECORD!

A blistering 200m freestyle from Ariarne Titmus (1.52.23) holds off Mollie O’Callaghan (1:52.48), who both went under WR time and are qualified to compete at #Paris2024!#AllezAUS | @SwimmingAus pic.twitter.com/1mPmoCvVBt

— AUS Olympic Team (@AUSOlympicTeam) June 12, 2024

Entering the race as the record holder, O’Callaghan admitted some pre-race jitters, revealing that she “couldn’t really sleep” the night before the race.

Despite missing out on first place, O’Callaghan found the silver lining,

“It really takes the pressure off me, because coming into this (meet) I was not in a good place,” she said.

Following Titmus and O’Callaghan’s impressive performances in the pool, fans across the nation rushed to offer their congratulations.

Congratulations to Ariarne for breaking the World Record in 200M Freestyle. #Paris2024

— Alex Sar #DonTheSash (@alexmatthewsar) June 12, 2024

That was an incredible race!!! Bring on Paris!!!

— Luke (@LukeFuda) June 12, 2024

A superb performance. Very impressive.

— Noel JWP Cook (@TheScri76057990) June 12, 2024

Super swim by Arnie and Mollie

— Karen O’Sullivan (@KarenOSullivan6) June 12, 2024

It’s not the first time Titmus has etched her name into the history books after she previously set another world record in the women’s 400-metre freestyle on day one of the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan in 2023.

Titmus turned what was expected to be a thrilling three-way contest into a jaw-dropping display of her abilities, breaking Canadian teen swimmer Summer MacIntosh’s world record with a remarkable time of 3:55.38.

Titmus has become the first-ever swimmer to finish under the 3:56 time mark, shaving a massive seven-tenths of a second off McIntosh’s previous record.

“I was really excited for this race coming in tonight, I haven’t really raced the best in the world since the Olympics,” Titmus told reporters at the time.

The Olympian revealed it was her “most satisfying win”.

-with APP.