Things are becoming steamier for the Australian swimming team. Ariarne Titmus created history just a few days ago, winning the ‘Race of the Century’ in the 400m freestyle event at the Paris Olympics. She defeated her strong rival Katie Ledecky. Yet now, Titmus faces another solid opponent, or rather teammate, within her country’s team.

Alongside Titmus, another rising Aussie great is Kaylee McKeown. She recently became just the third Australian woman to successfully defend an individual Olympic title. Her fourth career medal stamped her as the country’s most decorated swimmer – thus drawing some coveted eyes away from Titmus. The swimming god to Aussies named McKeown his favorite.

Legend hails McKeown over Ariarne Titmus

Getting recognition from James Magnussen, a multi-time Olympic medallist, is no mean feat, and Ariarne Titmus had already achieved it. But now her compatriot is getting the coveted spotlight as well. After Kaylee McKeown waved the yellow flag and trumped two stars-and-stripes rivals, Magnussen was overjoyed. McKeown claimed a thrilling come-from-behind victory in Wednesday morning’s (AEST) 100m backstroke final. That prompted Magnussen to gush out feelings of pride for the 23-year-old. He giddily stated that “the darling of Australian swimming right now” rose to the incredible occasion. He acknowledged McKeown’s daunting challenge: “There was no bigger task for Kaylee McKeown than gold in the individual 100m backstroke. This was going to be her toughest race.”

Ariarne Litmus is not the only one to trumpet the Aussie-Yankee rivalry. After American rival Regan Smith set a new world record at the Olympic trials, McKeown reoccupied the throne as the world’s backstroke queen. At the 100m event, she beat both Smith and Katherine Berkoff to snatch gold. Magnussen could not emphasize this enough: “She dug deep, she fights, she’s like a dog with a bone in that 100m backstroke, she overcame both Americans who took silver and bronze, gold for Australia again.”

Lastly, Magnussen capped it off with a comparison with Ariarne Titmus. “She becomes the third woman (in swimming) to win the same event at back-to-back Olympics, after Dawn and day one, Ariarne (Titmus).” These resounding praises come days after Magnussen had hailed Titmus as strongly contending to overtake Ian Thorpe’s podium as Australia’s greatest swimmer. Titmus took on long-time rival Katie Ledecky, and successfully, as well.

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Ariarne Titmus: The unflappable champion and the new rivalry

Ledecky, a five-time Olympic gold medallist, had slaughtered the world records until Titmus competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Ariarne Titmus dominated the 400m freestyle, much like Thorpe, back then. Magnussen showered praises on Titmus: “Mentally she is just unflappable and what I love about her is that she is not afraid to put it out there and take on a one-on-one battle…That is what makes her so exciting to watch. You know she is there to win. And she did win, as this year in Paris, she defended her 2020 title remarkably.” Posting a winning time of 3:57.49, Titmus ruled the 400m show as her Aussie fans cheered loudly in the background.

However, now Ariarne Titmus will have to contend with her compatriot on her journey to replace Ian Thorpe. Let us see how the two superwomen perform as the Paris Olympics progresses.