And although some Australian cities are still trying to manage and overcome the pandemic, this isn’t letting our Aussie spirit down.ĭespite 75 per cent of Australians previously agreeing that the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics should be cancelled due to COVID-19 back, interestingly in a recent survey conducted by Hunter and Bligh, similarly close to three quarters (74.3 per cent) of Australians surveyed are currently tuning into the games.Īnd we get it, how could we miss the exhilarating feeling screaming at our television screens watching our nations representatives stand proud at the podium. This year, as most of us know, due to the worldwide COVID-19 situation, spectators aren’t allowed to attend the games. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics is well and truly underway. “She’s a good learner and has good people around her.Australia takes home the gold… even if we didn’t want it to begin with. “She is going to have to grow into being Australia’s new sporting heroine,” Gould, who went to the same high school at Titmus told SMH. In doing so, Titmus joined legendary swimmers Shane Gould and Ian Thorpe as the only Australians to win the 200 and 400-metre double at an Olympic Games. With the likes of Olympic gold medallists Federica Pellegrini and Penny Oleksiak also lining-up in the final, the focus was more spread out.īut Titmus stepped up to the plate once again, producing a typically scintillating final length to catch Ledecky - who finished fifth - before soaring ahead of the rest of the field to win her second gold medal. The stacked field for this event ironically meant for a less intense run-up for Titmus and Ledecky. Champion that she is, her focus had already shifted to her next duel in the pool with Ledecky two days later: the 200m free.

Titmus couldn’t afford to be too animated, however. 'It’s one thing to be swimming fast in the lead-up but it’s tough to be able to do it when it matters.' - Ariarne Titmus to NovaFM. The Aussie looked happy but exhausted in the water, surely feeling a mixture of joy and relief that she had delivered. Showing predatorial instincts on the final straight to hand Ledecky her first Olympic loss in an individual event, Titmus’ nickname ‘The Terminator’ had never been more apt. The moment came after the third and final turn going into the last 50m, when the Australian glided past and kept a stroke ahead until the wall to claim the gold medal. Ledecky took the early lead, but Titmus showed the calmness and maturity of a seasoned veteran to sit on the champion’s shoulder, waiting to pounce. The coronavirus-enforced delay to the Olympics only served to amplify the narrative surrounding their re-match, which quickly became one of the most hyped-up rivalries across any sport in the run-up to the Games. The swimming world wondered if she could repeat that feat, given that Ledecky was suffering from illness at the time and would be extra motivated to avenge that defeat.

Picture by 2019 Getty Images Ariarne Titmus: silencing the doubtersĮver since Titmus beat Katie Ledecky in the 400m freestyle final of the 2019 World Championships, an intense media spotlight has been thrust upon her.

A. titmus olympic games tokyo 2020