Mollie O’Callaghan has upstaged Ariarne Titmus to win 200m freestyle gold in the highly anticipated Olympic showdown between Australian teammates.
Titmus was seeking to add to her legacy by becoming the only swimmer to go back-to-back in 200m and 400m freestyle.
But O’Callaghan stormed to her first individual gold medal in 1:53.27, a new Olympic record, after biding her time in a mature performance.
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The pair touched fourth and fifth at the first turn but Titmus stormed into second by halfway, trailing only Siobhan Haughey, while O’Callaghan remained locked in the midfield.
But O’Callaghan peaked in the last 50m to touch the wall 0.54 seconds ahead of Titmus, with Haughey holding on for bronze.
“A race for the ages,” Mat Thompson said on Nine.
O’Callaghan, 20, and Titmus, 23, shared a warm embrace in the pool and again outside, raising their arms together to celebrate Australia’s first 1-2 finish since Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett in 2004.
O’Callaghan said it was “such an honour” to battle Titmus on the world stage.
“She’s an absolute gun. She races like an absolute beast,” O’Callaghan said.
Titmus entered the race as the favourite having broken O’Callaghan’s world record just six weeks ago.
“You’ve just got to accept the challenge at the end of the day. You can either run or you can fight, I chose to fight,” O’Callaghan said.
“I’m always striving for more and I always put a lot of pressure on myself. My expectations are very high, that was an amazing race but I’m always wanting that little bit more.
“To be honest I did it for the country. I didn’t do it for myself. I’m racing for all these people, I just had to put it behind me. And less pressure now, I get to swim freely.”
The teammates are both coached by Dean Boxall but rarely train together given their respective priorities.
The 200m distance is a clash of styles, with O’Callaghan the sprinter who warmed up for the event by winning 4x100m freestyle relay gold and Titmus coming down from the 400m.
“He’s a brilliant coach, I believe the best in the world,” Titmus said of Boxall.
“To manage this and have the two fastest girls in the world is a credit to him … I just feel very blessed to have him in our corner. If you want anyone backing you it’s Dean, we’ll just be forever grateful for him.”
