Titmus started to gain metres on Katie Ledecky in the last 50 metres of the 400m swim, overtaking her with only a few metres to go, winning in 3:58.76.
She is the first Australian woman to claim the world 400m title since Tracey Wickham in 1978.
Legendary duel between Australia’s Ariarne Titmus and Katie Ledecky of USA in the Women’s 400m Freestyle! Titmus overtaking Ledecky with only a few meters to go, winning in 3:58.76. All the action live on 💻 https://t.co/bEozhdW5qV #FINAGwangju2019 #Swimming #FINA pic.twitter.com/xknw7yMLxH
— FINA (@fina1908) July 21, 2019
The untouchable Ledecky had never lost a 400m freestyle race on a major international stage before and has held a tight grip on every swim upwards of 400m since 2013.
How did Titmus feel after taking on a five-time Olympic champion and coming away with the win?
“I feel pretty normal,” Titmus said afterwards. “It was just a swimming race. Dean said to me there were three outcomes; you could swim great, you could swim good, you could swim bad but you will still wake up tomorrow.”
Sunday comprised high and lows for Australian female athletes on the world stage.
In Cricket, the Southern Stars retained the Women’s Ashes after a draw in the one-off Test match gave the side a striking 8-2 lead in the series. With a first innings lead of 145, Australia only needed to avoid a loss in order to take home the Ashes. Australia ended the game on 6-221.
Thanks for the contest, @englandcricket !
We’ll see you Friday for the first #Ashes T20…💪 pic.twitter.com/sDhpMe5M3F
— Australian Women’s Cricket Team 🏏 (@SouthernStars) July 21, 2019
Ellyse Perry continued her excellent form with another half-century from 88 deliveries, adding to the 116 runs she scored in the first innings.
The Diamonds suffered major heartbreak after losing the Netball World Cup to New Zealand by a single goal on Sunday. In the sixth successive World Cup match-up between the two countries, New Zealand came out on top with a final score of 52-51.
What a game.
We didn’t get there and it hurts, but we gave it our all and left everything out there on the court today and these past 10 days.
Congratulations to New Zealand for an incredible performance today. #ShineBright#nwc2019 pic.twitter.com/zf5RG5nUJj
— Samsung Diamonds (@AussieDiamonds) July 21, 2019
“Coming into this I had no idea what to expect,” midcourter Kelsey Browne told the ABC.
“It’s been a huge week and I’m really proud to be part of it. I didn’t know if I was every going to make it, so to play in my first ever World Cup I’m over the Moon. I just wish it went the other way.”