Article by Julian Linden & Hayden Johnson, courtesy of the Courier Mail.
Three years later than it probably should have happened, Australia’s wonder women have finally got their redemption — blowing their opposition out of the water to win gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay at the Paris Olympics.
Of all the races in the French capital that the Dolphins were considered near certainties to win, this was the one, but it was a lot closer than expected until Ariarne Titmus exploded away on the anchor leg.
“It was really fun. I feel like a bit of redemption for us. Tokyo was definitely not the result we wanted,” Titmus said. “I personally wasn’t happy with how I performed in the relay in Tokyo, so I felt like I put pressure on myself to lift for this team. I feel like I have a role to play in this team and do the best job I possibly can.
“I think I did that tonight. I’m proud that they had faith in me in the back to put me last and get the job done.
“But very, very special (being) up there on the podium with the girls.”
The golden girls didn’t just beat their rivals, they pulverised them to send an emphatic statement to their major rivals from the United States and China by posting the second fastest time in history and almost lifting the lid of the La Defense Arena.
The dream team combination of Mollie O’Callaghan, Lani Pallister, Brianna Throssell and Ariarne Titmus joined forces to set a total of 7:38.08, just half a second off the world record which they set at the 2023 world championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
When Titmus got to the wall for the final time and looked at the clock, she had to wait almost three seconds before the next team arrived.
The United States took the silver and China the bronze.
The victory kept the Australians in contention to finish Julian Linden Hayden Johnson the nine-day swimming competition with the most gold medals for the first time since 1956. With three days to go, the Dolphins have five golds, with the US next on four.
The win was especially sweet for the Aussies after they were surprisingly beaten in Tokyo when the selectors omitted O’Callaghan, who was just 17 at the time, finishing with bronze behind China and the US.
It has since been revealed that two members of the gold medal winning team were among 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive to a banned drug before the Olympics but were acquitted of doping after investigators ruled they ate contaminated food.
A third member of the Chinese relay was stood down for a year in 2022 after eating a burger that contained traces of a banned steroid.
The Aussies made sure of it this time. O’Callaghan was an automatic choice after winning the individual 200m final, and gave the team a big advantage from the start when she rattled through her opening leg in 1:53.52.
O’Callaghan became the first triple gold medallist in Paris after her earlier wins in the 200m and 4x100m relay.
Added to her two golds from Tokyo, she now has five in total, equalling Ian Thorpe and moving with one of Emma McKeon, who holds the Australian record with six.
“I feel like this time I’ve earned my spot and I’ve really pushed myself to the limits over these past three years,”
O’Callaghan said. “I’ve really strived to the limits, I’m really self critical, I’m really hard on
myself each time.”
Pallister claimed her first Olympic medal after swimming the second leg just days after being cleared of Covid.
For Pallister and her family, it was a special moment because her mother Janelle Elford swam at the 1988 Seoul Olympics but missed out on a medal after finishing behind two East Germans when the Communists were engaged in state sponsored doping.
“When I got Covid, I honestly thought I’d be out of that relay completely,” Pallister said. Brianna Throssell collected her second gold after being a heat swimmer for the 4x100m freestyle in Tokyo.
