Ariarne Titmus breaks 200m freestyle world record in ominous Olympics warning

Ariarne Titmus says breaking the 200m freestyle world record is a bonus from her unparalleled duel in the pool with compatriot Mollie O’Callaghan. Titmus took the record from O’Callaghan in a stunning battle on Wednesday night at Australia’s Olympic swimming selection trials in Brisbane.

The 23-year-old clocked one minute 52.23 seconds, bettering O’Callaghan’s benchmark of 1:52.85 set at last year’s world championships. O’Callaghan also eclipsed her previous mark, finishing in 1:52.48 – the second-fastest time in history.

Titmus now holds the 200m and 400m freestyle world records and is the reigning Olympic champion in both events.

“Honestly, the world record is a bonus,” she said. “I am happy to finally put together a swim that I know I’m capable of and it’s exciting to do it in my home town, in front of a home-town crowd.”

Titmus said she didn’t use O’Callaghan’s feat at last year’s world titles in Japan as motivation, despite both swimmers being coached by Dean Boxall.

“We really don’t see what each other is doing in training, we are very separate – she trains for the sprint events, I train for middle distance,” Titmus said. “Looking at a world record, I don’t look at who has it. I look at the time.

“Honestly, that wasn’t really on my radar coming into this. I just wanted to put together a great swim and I have the chance to do it again in Paris.”