Australian swimming stars Ariarne Titmus and Mollie O’Callaghan have savoured another Olympic gold medal after winning the 4x200m freestyle relay with Lani Pallister and Brianna Throssell.
O’Callaghan kicked off proceedings and was first at every turn, with Pallister and Throssell maintaining the position through the middle portion of the race despite a huge push from American legend Katie Ledecky to leap into second.
But Titmus put together a perfect anchor leg of 1:52.95 — the fastest split by far — to comfortably shade the United States and seal gold with a new Olympic record time of 7:38.08 for Australia.
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“Our golden girls are simply glorious,” Mat Thompson said on Nine.
The United States held on for silver as they did in Tokyo three years ago while defending champions China took bronze.
In a touching moment, the Aussie quartet rushed over to heat swimmers Shayna Jack and Jamie Perkins after the podium ceremony with O’Callaghan putting her gold around the neck of her great mate Perkins.
“It means the world to me. This opportunity to swim along these girls … it means the world to me. I dreamed of this moment ever since Tokyo, striving to get on this team and doing whatever I can,” O’Callaghan told Nine.
“To have these girls beside me it means the world. Jamie is my best friend at training, she’s been there for me. She’s gone through a back injury, I think this gold medal means a lot for me to give to her. She’s well deserving of it. They make up this team, it’s the six of us.”
O’Callaghan now has three golds in Paris, after featuring in the victorious women’s 4x100m freestyle team and winning the 200m freestyle, to go with two golds won in Tokyo as a relay heat swimmer.
Australia’s triumph, the country’s eighth gold medal of the Olympics, was redemption on several fronts.
Titmus was the only member of the team to return from the Tokyo 2020 final where Australia settled for bronze in a thriller.
“I backed myself. I had Mol (O’Callaghan) saying certain words in my ear behind the block. I’m really proud of this group,” she said.
“I was disappointed with how I swam in Tokyo, I personally felt like I let the team down so this was personal vendetta for me.
“This was a gold medal that we really knew could be ours. Quite emotional out there.
“Bri (Throssell) and I have been roomies for over three months. She’s never stood on a podium before, it was very special. We’re literally living the dream.”
On what O’Callaghan was saying to her, Titmus laughed: “I don’t think they can be repeated but I think every Australian can put some Aussie slang together and figure out what she had to say.”
Here in Paris, Titmus was beaten in the individual 200m freestyle final by O’Callaghan, while after that race O’Callaghan missed a medal in the 100m freestyle.
Titmus, who opened the competition with gold in the 400m freestyle, now has two golds here and four in total in her Olympic career.
Throssell is now a dual Olympic gold medallist, but this was her first swim in a winning final — she was a heat swimmer in Australia’s triumphant women’s 4x100m medley team at Tokyo three years ago.
“To actually stand on the podium … it was just such an honour to sing the anthem and wear the gold medal,” she said.
Throssell said she was stunned to learn she would be swimming against Ledecky and Canadian star Summer McIntosh.
“Holy moly when I saw the sheets come out before it was like classic. I had to my best and not worry who I was against. I did my best and that’s all that I can ask for,” she said.
Pallister was forced to withdraw from the 1500m freestyle when she was diagnosed with COVID earlier this week.
“I don’t know what to say. That isolation room stoked but I’m stoked I’m negative,” she said after the relay win, choking back tears.
“I didn’t think I’d be part of this relay at the start of the week so to be standing here I don’t think I could ask for anything more from my Olympic experience.”
Aussies in action
Elizabeth Dekkers finished fourth in the 200m butterfly final, two seconds shy of bronze, while fellow Australian Abbey Lee Connor touched the wall in seventh.
Canadian teenager Summer McIntosh claimed another gold with an Olympic record time of 2:03.03.
American Regan Smith finished 0.81 seconds behind to claim silver while China’s Zhang Yufei took a steady bronze.
Cam McEvoy finished in a dead heat for first to be the equal fastest qualifier for the 50m freestyle final.
He touched in 21.38 alongside British star Ben Proud while Italy’s Leonardo Deplano was third in 21.50, faster than everyone in the other semi-final featuring a top three of Jordan Crooks, Caeleb Dressel and Maxime Grousset.
McEvoy is now on the verge of doing what he missed out on at Rio 2016, when he was favoured to win gold but finished seventh in the final.
“Where I am now as a person and an athlete, very different (to Rio),” the 30-year-old said.
“The biggest thing is just understanding that the whole context is different, both in terms of in the Olympics and during the comp and also the whole preparation leading up to it.
“So just reminding myself of the difference in context and how that flows in to just being able to execute what I can.
“All my training is around repeatability and repeatability at the speeds I need to be at, so just really having trust in that and remembering where I am.
“Two years ago, I wouldn’t have said I’d be here, let alone in the position I’m in now. So being grateful for that.”
Kaylee McKeown dominated her 200m backstroke semi-final without fuss.
The Australian champion qualified second fastest for the medal race, touching the wall with a time 0.25 seconds slower than American Phoebe Bacon in the other semi.
Canadian Kylie Masse and American Regan Smith, backing up from the 200m butterfly, also secured their places behind Honey Osrin (Great Britain) and Peng Xuwei (China).
William Petric and Thomas Neill both missed the 200m individual medley final.
The Aussie pair finished sixth and seventh respectively in their semi-final with what proved to be the 10th and 11th fastest times — not enough to make the medal race.
French hero Leon Marchand secured his place in the final with fastest time among all qualifiers.
– with AAP
