Ariarne Titmus wins 400 free gold; Katie Ledecky takes bronze - ESPN

PARIS -- No matter having the second-fastest qualifying time earlier in the day, nor even accidentally going to the wrong lane at the race's start, Australia's Ariarne Titmus proved her dominance in the women's 400m freestyle on Saturday night with her second gold medal in the race.

The reigning world-record holder in the event held off Canada's Summer McIntosh (silver) and American Katie Ledecky (bronze) with a 3:57.49 at La Defense Arena.

The race was one of the most hyped leading into the Games as it featured an eagerly anticipated head-to-head showdown between Titmus and Ledecky. During the 2020 Olympics, Titmus handed Ledecky her first defeat in any individual Olympic competition as the Australian edged the American for gold in the race. Since then, Ledecky has continued to dominate in her two longer distances (800m, 1,500m) but Titmus has become the woman to beat in the 400m and she set the current world record of 3:55.38 last year at the world championships. Entering the 2024 Games, Titmus hadn't lost in the distance since 2019.

Despite Titmus' status as the defending champion and the clear favorite, Ledecky showed she remained a contender for the top spot on the podium during her qualifying heat earlier on Saturday. Competing against Titmus in the third and final heat, Ledecky trailed for most of the race but picked up the pace in the final 100 meters and overcame her rival down the stretch to earn the fastest qualifying time.

Ledecky told reporters earlier in the day she hadn't been trying to make a statement with her performance.

"There is no message or anything," Ledecky said. "I was trying to have a good swim and get into that final and I got my lane, and we all got our lanes and that's all that matters."

Titmus inadvertently walked to Lane 4 -- reserved for the swimmer with the fastest time in qualifying -- after being introduced ahead of the race. She only moved after being reminded by Ledecky, who told her it was "all good," and was apologetic and seemingly amused by her mistake. But in the race, there were no such errors and Titmus took the lead early and never relinquished it, finishing 0.88 of a second ahead of McIntosh and over three seconds faster than Ledecky.

Titmus, 23, is now just the second swimmer in history, and first since Martha Norelius in 1924 and 1928 to earn Olympic gold in the event twice.

Titmus later said her immediate reaction after the race was "relief."

"It's a little bit more emotional, this one, than the first one," Titmus said. "I know what it feels like to be an Olympic champion. It's a different feeling. I know how hard it is racing in these circumstances, at an Olympic Games. The noise, atmosphere, pressure. [Olympic] Village life definitely makes performing well hard.

"My legs are a bit tired, but I'm relieved more than anything. I probably felt the pressure for this race more than anything in my life to be honest. And I'm definitely good at handling the pressure, but I've definitely felt it. The Olympics is different. It's not like anything else. It's not about how fast you go. It's about getting your hand on the wall first. So, I'm really happy to have done that tonight."

Ledecky became the first swimmer to win three medals in the event, and the bronze marked Ledecky's 11th medal during her four Olympic appearances. She is now two medals shy of becoming the most decorated American female Olympian in history. She will have three more chances for podium glory in Paris in the 800m freestyle, the 1,500m freestyle and the 4x200m freestyle.

Ledecky, 27, said she was grateful to have gotten a medal on Saturday, even though she believed she could have performed better.

"I'm pretty tough on myself, so there are always things I want to do better, even in my great races," Ledecky said. "So yeah, sure, there are a lot of things I would've liked to have done better, but I mean, I looked at my splits. There's nothing that was horrible about it. I just didn't have it on the last 200, 250 the way I wanted to...

"I know it was such a good field that there was a chance that I could have not have gotten the medal. So, I'm grateful for that. Grateful for the effort that I've put in. Happy with the medal and looking forward to my next races."

Ledecky, who became visibly emotional toward the end of her news conference as she discussed her training partners at the Gator Swim Club and how much she valued them, will now have two days off before returning to the pool on Tuesday for her 1,500m freestyle preliminary heat. She is the reigning gold medalist in the event and was determined to remain focused on her races ahead despite the brief time off.

"I just know that with the two-day break, I need to keep my focus, not sit back and relax and kind of fall out of meet mode," Ledecky said. "I need to stay in the zone in the meet mode that I want to be in over the next week. So that's kind of what I mean, making sure that I'm just staying focused on my races and just staying positive, supporting my teammates. Just again, taking it day by day."