Australian swimmer Titmus beat WR holder Ledecky for 400m freestyle gold at Tokyo Olympics

Ariarne Titmus (L) of Australia competes during Tokyo 2020 women's 400m freestyle final at Tokyo Aquatics Center in Tokyo, Japan, July 26, 2021. (Xinhua/Xu Chang)

TOKYO, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Australia's world champion Ariarne Titmus edged world record holder Kathleen Ledecky of the United States to claim gold in the women's 400m freestyle at the Tokyo Olympic Games here on Monday.

The Aussie beat Ledecky to second in the last 100m, winning in an Olympic record time of three minutes and 56.69 seconds.

Rio Olympic champion Ledecky took a silver in 3:57.36 and China's Li Bingjie bagged the bronze.

Li set a new Asian record at 4:01.08, thanks to a 29.47-second final lap that saw her overtook Canadian Summer McIntosh.

Her compatriot 17-year-old Tang Muhan finished fifth.