2020 TOKYO SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES
- When: Pool swimming: Saturday, July 24 – Sunday, August 1, 2021
- Open Water swimming: Wednesday, August 4 – Thursday, August 5, 2021
- Where: Olympic Aquatics Centre / Tokyo, Japan
- Heats: 7 PM / Semifinals & Finals: 10:30 AM (Local time)
- Full aquatics schedule
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In the final of the women’s 400 freestyle, China’s Li Bingjie took down the Asian Record in the event. Racing alongside Katie Ledecky and Ariarne Titmus, Bingjie posted a time of 4:01.08 en route to a bronze medal finish.
With her performance, Bingjie took down her own Asian record of 4:01.57 that she set during the prelims session. Prior to that, the record stood at a 4:01.75 that Bingjie set at the 2017 Chinese National Games.
In her finals performance, Bingjie split 58.71/1:01.66/1:01.11/59.66, as compared to her splits of 58.44/1:01.36/1:01.61/1:00.99 during prelims. Although she opened slightly faster in her prelims race, Bingjie swam the second half of the race over a second faster during finals than she did in prelims.
Bingjie’s closing speed was a big factor in her 3rd place finish, as she was caught in a tight battle with Canadian Summer McIntosh.
Full Recap- Written by James Sutherland
WOMEN’S 400 FREESTYLE – FINAL
- World Record: Katie Ledecky (USA) – 3:56.46 (2016)
- Olympic Record: Katie Ledecky (USA) – 3:56.46 (2016)
- World Junior Record: Katie Ledecky (USA) – 3:58.37 (2014)
- 2016 Olympic Champion: Katie Ledecky (USA) – 3:56.46
- SwimSwam Event Preview – Women’s 400 Freestyle
- GOLD: Ariarne Titmus (AUS), 3:56.69
- SILVER: Katie Ledecky (USA), 3:57.36
- BRONZE: Li Bingjie (CHN), 4:01.08
- Summer McIntosh (CAN), 4:02.42
- Tang Muhan (CHN), 4:04.10
- Isabel Gose (GER), 4:04.98
- Paige Madden (USA), 4:06.81
- Erika Fairweather (NZL), 4:08.01
In a heavyweight title fight that lived up to the billing, Ariarne Titmus dealt Katie Ledecky a knockout blow on the last 50 of the women’s 400 freestyle, handing the American her first-ever individual Olympic loss.
Ledecky took hold of the lead early and looked firmly in control, sitting over six tenths ahead of Titmus at the 200 in 1:57.44. Titmus started making up ground on the sixth 50, out-splitting Ledecky by half a second, and by the final wall, the Australian had taken the lead.
Titmus then managed to fend off Ledecky coming home, splitting a blistering 28.67 to win gold by close to seven tenths in 3:56.69. That swim for Titmus is the second-fastest ever, breaking her Commonwealth, Oceanian and Australian Record of 3:56.90 set last month at the Olympic Trials.
It is also Australia’s first gold in the pool at these Games.
Despite suffering the loss, Ledecky still registers her second-fastest swim ever in 3:57.36, trailing only her world record of 3:56.46 from the 2016 Games.
China’s Li Bingjie reset her Asian Record for the second time in as many days to claim the bronze in 4:01.08, while 14-year-old stud Summer McIntosh did the same with her Canadian Record, slicing off three tenths in 4:02.42 to take fourth.
