Ariarne Titmus Sees Off Race Favourite And World Record Holder To Clinch Olympic Gold

"Confirmation, a coronation... we can start the celebration!"

Ariarne Titmus, you've done Australia proud.

The swimming sensation has powered her way to an Olympic gold medal, seeing off current record holder and race favourite Katie Ledecky in the women's 400m freestyle final.

It was actually Ledecky who lead for the majority of the race, but the Aussie did a fantastic job to close the gap late on and there was absolutely nothing between the two rivals as they entered their last lap of the pool.

Neck and neck, Titmus turned on the afterburners and eventually broke free from Ledecky.

And with just a couple of strokes to go, Titmus remained composed and dug deep to extend her lead even further.

She then crossed the line with an impressive time of 3.56.69 - just a fraction of a second slower than the Olympic record held by, you guessed it, Ledecky.

The come-from-behind victory carves 20-year-old Titmus' name into the Olympic history books.

What a moment.

Incredibly, Titmus actually competes again later tonight in the 200m events - machine!

Topics: olympics, Tokyo Olympics, Gold Medal, swimming, Australia

Max Sherry

Max Sherry is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. After migrating Down Under from London as a teenager, he instantly fell in love with Aussie sport and its culture. From NRL to AFL, cricket to rugby — you name it, Max watches it (with a beer in hand, of course). During his time at Fox Sports, he worked in the football department covering the Premier League, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas. Born a stone's throw away from West Ham's training ground, Max is obviously a die-hard Liverpool fan.

@maxysherry