Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus reclaimed her 400-meter freestyle world record and took gold after a dominant win over rivals Katie Ledecky and Summer McIntosh at the world championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
Titmus, 22, came home in three minutes, 55.38 seconds to take back the record that 16-year-old McIntosh, of Canada, had wrested from her in March.
American Ledecky, 26, finished the race second in 3:58.73 but McIntosh could only place fourth, with New Zealand's Erika Fairweather taking third in 3:59.59.
"I was really excited for this race," said Titmus, who was going head-to-head with Ledecky and McIntosh for the first time since she won gold at the Tokyo Olympics two years ago.
"Me and Katie and Summer always put up a great fight and I'm glad that we could put on a show."
But Titmus led from start to finish, breaking McIntosh's benchmark of 3:56.08. Titmus had added a little spice to the buildup by questioning McIntosh's ability to handle the pressure.
"Women's sport is really getting hyped up," said Titmus. "I just feel really blessed to be a part of it."
Australia broke the women's 4x100m freestyle relay world record, with the team of Mollie O'Callaghan, Shayna Jack, Meg Harris and Emma McKeon coming home in a time of 3:27.96, ahead of the United States on 3:31.93 and China on 3:32.40.
Australia's men's 4x100m freestyle team also claimed gold.
Another world record was set by France's Leon Marchand, who smashed US great Michael Phelps' last remaining record in winning the 400m individual medley. Marchand clocked 4:02.50 minutes - more than a second faster than Phelps - to beat American Carson Foster (4:06.56) and Japan's Daiya Seto (4:09.41).
Earlier, Australian Sam Short, 19, won the 400m freestyle.
Ariarne Titmus leaves her rivals in her wake as she touches first to take gold in the 400m freestyle in world-record time. AFP
Ariarne Titmus
