Ariarne Titmus (L), Katie Ledecky (C), Summer McIntosh (R). PHOTO: All from Getty — Ariarne Titmus (L), Katie Ledecky (C), Summer McIntosh (R). (PHOTOS: All from Getty)

Paris Olympics 2024 400m freestyle prediction: Can Katie Ledecky hold off Ariarne Titmus and Summer McIntosh?

Modified Jul 27, 2024 14:45 GMT

Katie Ledecky is widely renowned as the greatest female swimmer of all time. The American swimmer has qualified for the women’s 400m freestyle finals at the 2024 Paris Olympics with a dominating performance at the quadrennial Games.

Swimming in Heat 3, Ledecky edged out the world record holder Ariarne Titmus from Australia to make it to her third consecutive final, having qualified in the event’s finals in the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She recorded a time of 4:02.19 to finish ahead of Titmus (4:02.46) and Isabel Gose (4:03.83) in the heats, with both Titmus and Gose also securing a place in the finals.

Ledecky is a former world record holder in the women’s 400m freestyle long course. She also won the gold medal in the discipline at the 2016 Rio Olympics and will be aiming to reclaim her gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, the journey won’t be an easy one for Ledecky, as she will face the likes of Ariarne Titmus of Australia, Canadian swimming sensation Summer McIntosh, and the reigning world champion Erika Fairweather.

Titmus is the reigning Olympic champion in the 400m freestyle event. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Ledecky (3:57.36) had to settle for the silver medal after losing to Titmus in the event’s finals. The Australian swam an Oceanian record of 3:56.69 to secure the gold medal. Her present world record stands at 3:55.38, achieved during the 2023 World Aquatics Championships held In Fukuoka, Japan.

Meanwhile, another swimmer who can challenge Katie Ledecky in this event is McIntosh. McIntosh has a personal best of 03:56.08, which she recorded during her world-record performance at the 2023 BELL Canadian Trials. Fairweather too shouldn’t be taken lightly considering she achieved a better time than McIntosh (4:02.65) in Heat 2 to advance to the finals, clocking a 4:02.55.

Ledecky's personal best remains the same mark of 3:56.46, a time she swam during the 2016 Rio Olympics finals that clinched her gold medal. Based on form, Titmus and McIntosh hold an edge over Ledecky. However, Katie Ledecky should not be written off, as she has plenty of experience in her forte and also emerged as the best performer in the overall heats of the 400m freestyle at the Paris Olympics.

Katie Ledecky looks strong to win back-to-back gold medals in 1500m freestyle

Katie Ledecky in Women's 1500m freestyle at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Swimming Trials (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images

Katie Ledecky will start as the favorite to clinch a successive gold medal victory in the women’s 1500m freestyle at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The world record holder won gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 15:37.34.

She recorded a season-best performance of 15:37.35, clocking the time at the Olympic trials. Her top competitors' best performances this season have been Simona Quadarella (15:46.99), Lani Pallister (15:53.79), and Bingjie Li (15:56.62), all coming in significantly behind Ledecky's mark. This solidifies her position as a strong contender for the gold medal in the discipline.