Ariarne Titmus made more Olympic history by claiming Australia’s first gold medal in the pool at the Paris Games.
Rebounding from a rare loss in the 400-metre freestyle heats, the Launceston-born, Brisbane-based 23-year-old became the first female Australian swimmer to defend an Olympic title in 60 years.
It was Titmus’ third Olympic gold medal. The reigning Olympic, world and Commonwealth champion and world record holder over 400m has also claimed Tasmania’s only three individual Olympic gold medals.
A packed house at La Defense Arena was treated to a battle of three world record-holders with Titmus ideally placed in lane five between America’s 2016 gold medallist and Olympic record-holder Katie Ledecky and Canadian teenager Summer McIntosh.
Titmus hit the front from the start and by halfway led 17-year-old McIntosh by 0.35 seconds and a body length ahead of Ledecky.
Breathing to the left, Titmus was able to watch McIntosh through the final length and cruised to victory in 3:57.49, two seconds outside her world record of 3:55.38.
McIntosh was 0.88 seconds behind to take silver with Ledecky 3.37 seconds down in third.
Titmus couldn’t hide a beaming smile as she left the pool and shared a podium selfie with her North American rivals and said victory was a huge relief.
“I’m happy to come away defending my title - there was a lot of expectation on me and I definitely felt it this week more than ever so it’s nice to have that monkey off my back now,” she said.
“I actually felt pretty relaxed today which was nice so I just wanted to come out and have fun. The Olympics is about getting your hand on the wall first, it’s not about swimming as fast as you can and I was a bit off my best but I’ll forever be back-to-back Olympic champ which is pretty cool.”
The former Riverside and Launceston Aquatic Club member, whose family moved to Queensland in 2015, used the moment to reflect on her journey.
“It’s pretty crazy for me, I’m just a little kid from Tassie who grew up on property and moved up to the big show in Brisbane for my swimming career and I’m very grateful that my family backed me and believed in me and here I am. I’m still that same person, I’m just living out my dreams and having fun and hopefully it’s inspiration for anyone. It doesn’t matter where you come from - small town, big town, whatever race, religion - you can do whatever you want to do.
“I’m going to try and enjoy this as much as I can but also remember I’ve got a race in the morning and it’s a tough field.”
In the morning’s heat, Ledecky timed her charge perfectly to win. Titmus led from the start but the American hit the front at the final turn and held on to win in 4:02.19 with Titmus second, 0.27 seconds behind (4:02.46).
After the heat, she said: “It was good to get out there and race Katie again. It’s always fun racing the best in the world.”
Titmus will be in action again from 7pm on Sunday when she begins her 200m title defence.
The equivalent men’s event will also see fellow Tasmanian Max Giuliani begin his Olympic career.
The 21-year-old has been drawn in the second of four heats where he will race from lane five alongside Britain’s reigning world champion Matt Richards.
Giuliani’s arrival at La Defense Arena completes a remarkable journey which saw the Victorian-born swimmer move to Hobart aged four and the Gold Coast 15 years later having almost quit the sport as a 17-year-old to become a tradie.
Reflecting on the journey, he said: “My plan was always to stay in Tasmania. Moving interstate was not for me, I thought I can make it from Tassie.
“But my coach Paul (Crosswell) got a gig up there and I did not think anyone else could coach me the way he had and I moved to give it one last crack. I knew it was make or break. It was super hard and a pretty emotional decision.
“I moved to the Gold Coast to give it one last final crack. I was up there by myself. My partner from Tasmania was with me but my folks were at home. They said they would be proud of me regardless of what I did. If I didn’t like it I could come home but I might like it, stay on and do well, which is what happened.”
Swapping Hobart Aquatic Club for the Miami Swimming Club, the former St Virgil’s College and Guilford Young student embarked on a meteoric rise through the national freestyle rankings.
Leading off Miami’s 4x200m relay at the Queensland Championships in December 2023, Giuliani clocked 1:44.79 - the second-fastest time in Australian history, behind only Ian Thorpe’s record of 1:44.06, set way back at the 2001 world championships.
He claimed three World Cup gold medals in Hungary plus silvers in Greece and Germany before announcing himself by qualifying for Paris with 200m victory at this year’s Australian Olympic Trials in Brisbane.
“In hindsight, I’m super happy that I was almost pushed into making that decision because otherwise I would still be in Tassie doing the same thing and working in a trade,” he added.
Giuliani, who will also contest the 4x200m freestyle relay which begins on Tuesday, has a clear goal of what he hopes to achieve in Paris.
“The goal is to absolutely win a medal,” he said. “It would be even better if it was gold.”
Hobart’s Eddie Ockenden and Josh Beltz were part of the Kookaburras team which opened their Olympic campaign with a tight 1-0 win against 2016 champions Argentina.
Playing a record-extending 446th international match at Stade Yves Du Manoir, 37-year-old Ockenden provided the penalty corner trap from which Blake Govers rifled home the opening goal with the last touch of the first half.
Meanwhile, Beltz, 29, was part of a solid defensive rearguard which kept out Argentina’s penalty corner inside the final 45 seconds of the contest.
Both Tasmanians were in the Kookaburras team which won a silver medal after losing a penalty shootout to Belgium in the Tokyo Olympic final.
Australia’s next match in Pool B is against Ireland at 6pm on Monday.
Hobart’s Maddison Brooks has been called up to replace Alice Arnott in the Hockeyroos’ Olympic team.
Arnott pulled up with calf soreness after arriving in Paris and, as a precaution, was withdrawn from the squad before the first fixture.
Brooks had initially been named as a travelling reserve for Australia. The 19-year-old OHA midfielder has had a stellar rise with the national team, playing 32 internationals since making her debut in 2023.
The Hockeyroos take on South Africa at Yves Du Manoir Stadium at 8.45pm on Sunday and also face Great Britain, USA, Argentina and Spain in Pool B.