Ariarne Titmus shattered the 200-metre freestyle world record at Australia’s Olympic swimming trials on Wednesday, surpassing her compatriot and teammate Mollie O’Callaghan.
Titmus, the reigning Olympic champion in the 200m and 400m freestyle, recorded a remarkable time of 1:52.23 in Brisbane.
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This time eclipsed O’Callaghan’s previous world record of 1:52.85, which was set at last year’s world championships.
O’Callaghan, 20, also swam faster than her old record, finishing in 1:52.48 and taking second place.
“Looking at the results, that’s unbelievable,” Titmus said post-race.
“I’m just happy to finally produce a swim in the 200 that I feel like my training reflects. The field that we have is why we’re swimming so fast, we push each other every day.”
Both Titmus and O’Callaghan train at St Peters Western Swim Club under coach Dean Boxall.
The pair will continue their rivalry at this year’s Olympics in Paris, starting on July 26.
Last year, O’Callaghan claimed the 100m and 200m freestyle titles at the world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, finishing ahead of Titmus in the 200m final.
Following her performance on Wednesday, Titmus is poised to hold the 200m and 400m freestyle world records.
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