2019 FINA WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS
- All sports: Friday, July 12 – Sunday, July 28, 2019
- Pool swimming: Sunday, July 21 – Sunday, July 28, 2019
- The Nambu University Municipal Aquatics Center, Gwangju, Korea
- Meet site
- Competition Schedule
- FinaTV Live Stream
- Entry Lists
- Start Lists
- Results
Australia’s Ariarne Titmus accomplished a feat no woman ever had on night 1 of the 2019 FINA World Championships as she defeated distance legend Katie Ledecky (USA) in the 400 free. Titmus stormed to a new Australian Record and Oceanian Record of 3:58.76. That was over half a second faster than her former record of 3:59.35 set last month. Titmus was out with the lead early on, but Ledecky took over after the first 100. Titmus stormed home on the final 50, however, nearly 2 seconds faster than Ledecky on that split (29.51 to 31.34) as Ledecky took 2nd in 3:59.97.
Titmus was within a half second of Ledecky’s Championship Record and is the only woman to ever beat Ledecky in a distance event at a major international competition. She’s now the 2nd fastest performer in history and the only woman other than Ledecky to have broken 3:59. Ledecky formerly held all 10 of the 10 fastest swims in history, but Titmus now owns the #8 performance.
Also of note, Hungarian Anja Kesely became the 9th fastest performer ever with a 4:01.31. She was just off the podium in 4th behind the USA’s Leah Smith (4:01.29).
ALL-TIME TOP 10 PERFORMERS:
| 1 | Katie Ledecky | 3:56.46 |
| 2 | Ariarne Titmus | 3:58.76 |
| 3 | Federica Pellegrini | 3:59.15 |
| 4 | Joanne Jackson | 4:00.60 |
| 5 | Leah Smith | 4:00.65 |
| 6 | Rebecca Adlington | 4:00.79 |
| 7 | Camille Muffat | 4:01.13 |
| 8 | Jazz Carlin | 4:01.23 |
| 9 | Anja Kesely | 4:01.31 |
| 10 | Li Bingjie | 4:01.75 |
ALL-TIME TOP 10 PERFORMANCES:
| 1 | Katie Ledecky | 3:56.46 |
| 2 | Katie Ledecky | 3:57.94 |
| 3 | Katie Ledecky | 3:58.34 |
| 4 | Katie Ledecky | 3:58.37 |
| 5 | Katie Ledecky | 3:58.44 |
| 6 | Katie Ledecky | 3:58.50 |
| 7 | Katie Ledecky | 3:58.71 |
| 8 | Ariarne Titmus | 3:58.76 |
| 9 | Katie Ledecky | 3:58.86 |
| 10 | Katie Ledecky | 3:58.98 |
Staying on top is harder than getting there. I think her biggest challenge is finding the right training formula. It’s tricky to constantly experiment with new things, but doing what she’s done in the past most likely won’t sustain her or lead to improvement. She can probably do more with less, at this point. No doubt, the taste of defeat is bitter and will provide plenty of motivation.
Her stroke has changed a lot, it appears. Didn’t she used to kick above the water more, which I remember hearing was deliberate, to save the legs given lower air vs. water resistance. Now her legs seem to drag more. Appears lower in the water. Maybe this was a deliberate change.
agreed. I liked her old stroke (under Gemmell) more
People talked and talked about how Ledecky would swim faster now she has competition.
I never saw that. Competing in these longer events is very hard.
Ledecky panicked and then she quit.
Agreed, Ledecky panicked and then quit. She breathed every stroke in the 10 yards. Unlike her.
it easy ta be nice and smiley when ya win all the time she acted like a chump after getting the tar kicked out of her!! Man lookin forward the day King gets her butt kicked in breaststroke…the meltdown will be precious!!!
Cool it, Efimova.
She ran out of gas, but I completely disagree that she “quit”.
Wrong. That’s not what happened.
The 400 free is all about correct pacing. Ledecky pushed the middle of the race a little too hard and went into the red zone. She was close to record pace at the 300. Then she “hit the wall” down the stretch. She didn’t quit.
Titmus went out hard but was smart to back off a little when she sensed the pace was too fast for her. Then she had a something left on the last lap.
If you watch the men’s 400 free, the last 100 is very fast because they have set the race up that way.
For the record and to correct this article, the 400M LC Freestyle is not a distance event. Consult the rule book if you have any doubt.
Incoming Ledecky apologists in comments…
Can someone check on Yozhik if he’s ok?
I haven’t heard anything from him and I want to read his 10,000 words essays on how Stanford ruined Ledecky.
31.34 for Ledecky in last 50. A disaster.
Ariarne to Katie