Aussie swimmers claimed gold medals and broke world records on the opening day of the World Aquatics Championships 2023 in Fukuoka, Japan.
Ariarne Titmus won her 400m freestyle race in a record time of 3:55.38, reclaiming her title as record holder by beating American Katie Ledecky and Canadian teenager Summer McIntosh.
The 22-year old becomes the first swimmer ever to go under the 3:56 barrier.
Titmus said her win was her “most satisfying.”
“I’ve put in a lot of work the last six weeks and I took a lot away from trials,” she told Channel 9. “I swam the way I wanted to. I knew I had enough time to turn that around. And I came in tonight and just tried to be fearless and race again and it paid off.”
Footage of Titmus’ coach Dean Boxall’s demonstrative display of exuberance on the spectator stands has been going viral since Sunday night.
Australia’s women’s relay team also broke their own world record when they won the 4x100m freestyle relay, in a time of 3:27.96.
With an average split time of 51.99, each swimmer — Mollie O’Callaghan, Meg Harris, Shayna Jack and Emma McKeon, broke their own world record set at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021.
“We had an amazing time, and I think that’s what you saw in the pool – four girls having the best time of their lives,” Shayna Jack said after the race.
Her teammate, Meg Harris described the evening’s race as “insane.”
“You’ve seen amazing things already,” she said. “Everything in swimming is a team effort, whether you’re an individual swimmer or a relay.”
The Aussie men’s team also won the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay — making it the first time Australia has secured gold medals for both men’s and women’s 4x100m freestyle relay at a world championships.