A fearless Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus (St Peters Western; Dean Boxall) has headlined a golden night for Queensland swimmers in the Fukuoka pool overnight – regaining her 400m freestyle world record in a comprehensive victory in swimming's “race of the century.”
Titmus claimed the second leg of an historic 400m freestyle double after fellow Queenslander, 19-year-old Sam Short (Rackley Swim Team; Damien Jones) announced himself onto the world stage, becoming the fifth Australian and the fourth Queenslander to win the men’s 400m freestyle in the opening event of the opening night.
And to cap off a spectacular night in the golden pond, the Australian 4x100m freestylers claimed double gold – the women’s team breaking their own world record set at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the men snatching a last gasp gold.
On a memorable night:
Titmus clocked 3:55.38 (27.56; 56.92; 1:56.94; 2:56.90) – to take 0.70secs off Canadian Summer McIntosh’s world record, swimming away from four-time winner, the USA’s Katie Ledecky (3:58.73), brave New Zealander Erika Fairweather (3:59.59) with McIntosh (3:59.94) fourth and Australia’s Lani Pallister (Griffith University; Michael Bohl) 4:05.17, sixth.
It was a case of catch me if you can from Titmus who destroyed the field, its reputations and the world record – the first woman in history under 3:56.00 - there was no stopping her!
“It’s probably my most satisfying win,” Titmus said, with her golden glow after the race.
“I feel like I didn’t have the most perfect prep coming into this and I think it all came together in the last few months. To swim like that and swim really free and fearless, I feel really over the moon to get that one.”
“It’s about trusting yourself; I’ve got ‘fearless’ tattooed on my foot so I can see it right before I dive. Just trying to swim like that little girl that I was.
“When I was first up against Katie, I was never afraid to take it to her. And Summer and Katie are world-record holders (too), so I felt like the only way to beat them was to take it out and see who had the most fight and who had the most left in the tank at the end. I’m happy that it worked.”
It was 19-year-old Short who opened the golden gate for the Australians joining swimming royalty to become the fifth Australian swimmer to win the men’s 400 metres freestyle with his last gasp Midas touch in 3:40.60 (25.91; 53.58; 1:49.29; 2:45.49).
He fought back to beat Tokyo Olympic champion Ahmed Hafnaoui (Tunisia) who was just 0.10 behind in 3:40.70 – with Germany’s silver medallist from 2022 Lukas Martens, taking the bronze in 3:42.20.
Only Germany’s world record holder Paul Biedermann (3:40.07), Australia’s three-time world champion Ian Thorpe (3:40.08) and China’s Sun Yang (3:40.14) have swum faster.
Short joins fellow Queenslanders Kieren Perkins (1994), Grant Hackett (2005) and Elijah Winnington (2022) on a coveted list of Australians to have won the coveted 400m world title.
Winnington (St Peters Western; Dean Boxall), who won the title in Budapest last year was seventh finished seventh in 3:44.26.
Short wasted no time taking the race by the throat, surging to the front at the 100m mark in 53.58, going through the 200m in 1:49.29 and the 300m in 2:45.49, all the while it was Hafnaoui, who out-touched Australia’s Jack McLoughlin too snatch the Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021, who stalked Short.
The tall Tunisian kept creeping up with his long, loping stroke, to take the lead at the 350m mark in 3:13.60 – just 0.17 ahead of the Australian boy.
The title would come down to that final 50 with Short claiming Hafnaoui with 25 metres to go before the Tunisian dug deep again and the pair went stroke for stroke, Short finding something at the end to win in a fingernail finish.
When asked how he felt Short, whose mum Nicole and father Danny followed his every stroke, sitting nervously in the grandstand, said he knew it was going to be a race in two with two laps left.
“He’s the Olympic champion…and it gave me goose bumps just thinking I had to race him…I was just glad I got my hand on the wall first,” said Short.
“It’s a dream come true… I claimed it and it feels good to flex in front of everyone. I’m stoked. I couldn’t wait to get on the lane rope and start flexing, to be honest. That’s what you dream of as a young guy, I reckon. I was over the moon.”
Short had never made a World Championships final individually up until yesterday so he went after it in the morning’s heats, clocking a personal best of 3:42.44 to put the world on notice.
Then came the relays and first up it was Australia’s sprint queens who ascended to their throne again – winning their third straight world title – Australia’s sixth world crown since their first win in 2005 – lowering their own world record to 3:27.96 – 1.73 off their Tokyo WR.
It was a glorious night for the foursome of Mollie O’Callaghan (St Peters Western; Dean Boxall) who gave the Australians a flying start in 52.08 (Sixth fastest All-time; third fastest Australian and No 1 in the world for 2023).
Then followed Shayna Jack (St Peters Western; Dean Boxall) 51.69 (fastest split of the night after her pb and previous World No 1 of 52.28 off the gun in the heats)
Handing over to Meg Harris (Marion, SA; Peter Bishop and formerly of Mackay and St Peters Western) 52.29 before Olympic champion Emma McKeon (Griffith University; Michael Bohl) 51.90 (the second fastest split of the night) who anchored the team home, blowing away their own world record in one of the most impressive relays ever swum.
It was then the boys turn, featuring Queensland trio Jack Cartwright (St Peters Western; Dean Boxall); Kai Taylor (St Peters Western; Dean Boxall) and Flynn Southam (Bond Swimming; Chris Mooney) who set up Aussie relay king, Kyle Chalmers (Marion, SA) who brought the team home.
Cartwright gave the Dolphins a flying start coming in third in 47.84 (pb and 7th fastest Australian) before Southam chimed in with his sizzling 47.85 to have the Aussies a close-up fifth before Taylor went 47.91, coming in third to give Chalmers just the sniff he needed.
Arguably the world’s best anchor-man in the business, Chalmers, then took control, powering down the first 50m in 22.29, clocking 46.56 and a golden touch in an overall time of 3:10.16 – the second fastest time ever by an Australian team and just 0.25 outside the 2008 National record of 3:09.91 set at the Beijing Olympic Games.
Other action on the opening night saw Brendon Smith (Griffith University; Michael Bohl) finish fifth in a 400m individual medley final that saw Frenchman Leon Marchand smash Michael Phelps world record.
Smith clocked 4:10.37, swimming himself into bronze medal contention in a final that saw Marchand set the new WR of 4::02.50 – 1.34 faster than Phelps swam in Beijing, 15 years ago.
In semi-final action, Emma McKeon, clocked the fourth fastest qualifying time for the final of the women’s 100m butterfly, with Jenna Forrester (St Peters Western; Michael Bohl) with her 2:10.03, fourth fastest into the women’s 200m individual medley final.
An event which saw the unfortunate disqualification of Australian champion and top ranked Kaylee McKeown(Griffith University; Michael Bohl) for an incorrect backstroke to breaststroke turn.
While Olympic and defending champion in the 200m breaststroke Zac Stubblety-Cook (Chandler Swim Club; Vince Raleigh) finished 12th in the 100m breaststroke in 59.69.
