Ariarne Titmus (left) of Australia wins the final of the women's 400 meter freestyle on Monday ahead of the U.S.'s Katie Ledecky at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Ariarne Titmus (left) of Australia wins the final of the women's 400 meter freestyle on Monday ahead of the U.S.'s Katie Ledecky at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. / AP

It wasn't the start to the Tokyo Games that Katie Ledecky, the biggest star of U.S. swimming, was looking for.

Australia's Ariarne Titmus narrowly edged her out of gold in the 400 meter freestyle final. Ledecky finished 0.67 seconds behind her, taking silver.

Ledecky holds the world record in this event, set at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016. Titmus did not break that record today – she was 0.23 seconds off, with a time of 3:56.69.

Ledecky and Titmus are fierce rivals, especially after Titmus beat her at the World Championships in 2019.

The 24-year-old U.S. star will have many more chances at gold. She is competing in three other individual events. In two of them – the 200 meter freestyle and 800 meter freestyle – she and Titmus will meet again.

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Tags: katie ledecky  world championships