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Titmus’ Coach Boxall Predicts Ledecky Will Be A ‘Caged Tiger’ After 400 Defeat

2019 FINA WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Australia’s teen freestyle ace Ariarne Titmus accomplished a historic feat to kick-off these World Championships, beating American icon Katie Ledecky in the 400m freestyle on night 1 in Gwangju.

Titmus clocked a time of 3:58.76 to take the gold in a new Australian, Oceanic and Commonwealth Record, rendering Ledecky to a very unfamiliar 2nd place finish in 3:59.97. Titmus is now the only woman to have ever beaten Ledecy in a distance event at a major international competition, becoming the 2nd fastest performer in history in the process.

The teen from Tasmania has been creeping into this territory before, clocking a time of 4:02.86 at the 2017 Queensland Championships when she was just 17.  Titmus also produced a lifetime best 200m free time of 1:55.76 at the Aussie Commonwealth Games Trials last year, coming within range of the 1:55.16 Ledecky put up at that same age.

Nevertheless, the St. Peters Western athlete/coach duo of Titmus and Dean Boxall are well aware of the competitive vengeance that may now be brewing within Ledecky, who represents force to be reckoned with even without any extra motivation.

Speaking after the 400m free race dust settled, Boxall said of Ledecky, “She looks p—– off, angry. She’s going to come back.” (Yahoo Sports)

Boxall continued, “She’ll be like a caged tiger coming out. Is it great for Arnie to win? Yeah, sure.

“But what does it do for Ledecky? Ledecky is still the Olympic champion, she’s the world record holder – Arnie is still the underdog.”

Reliving the magic of the 400m race, however, Boxall said of his protege, “She was dreaming of trying to be Olympic champion once. This is where you want to be.

“She’s tough. She knows that Katie had a misfire and that she still has two seconds on her. But she looks like she’s emotionally in check, which is good.”

Titmus hopes she even rattled Ledecky a bit, saying, “Now hopefully she is excited that she now has a battle with me.”

The pair will duel once again in the 200m free and 800m free, the former of which takes place tomorrow, Tuesday, July 23rd.

All quotes courtesy of Yahoo Sports.

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13 % Chinese person
5 years ago

Stanford has some of the worst ppl in the world farmed away in foundations & ‘ schools ‘ . Our Katie has been affected by the osmosis wafting out from those Stinktanks .
As the days go by & she breathes in more of the pure Sth Korean democratic air , she should improve .

Oceanian
5 years ago

And looking at the start-lists, Ledecky will be caged up with Titmus in every heat and final (excepting the 1500 ofc).

Wow
Reply to  Oceanian
5 years ago

Every event? Sorry sister but Titmus ain’t got realistic chance in the 800

Troy
Reply to  Oceanian
5 years ago

You’re being a little over optimistic about Arnie’s chances in the 800 I think.

m d e
Reply to  Troy
5 years ago

I could see Titmus busting a big time.

Like an 8:14 or something.

Still puts her well behind Ledecky and not even really a certainty for second.

Troy
Reply to  m d e
5 years ago

With Ledecky’s illness I guess anything is possible now.

Taa
5 years ago

Ledecky should transition away from swimming over the next 12 months. Stay at Stanford and train like a mere mortal would (maybe 30-40K a week) and then she can ramp up her distance training intensity from April to June for one last go at it and then leave the sport for good. Thats what I would advise her to do. Trying to fight the decline is just foolish and she will waste a couple years and get really frustrated just like Missy did. I look for her to announce her planned retirement prior to this September.

anonymous
5 years ago

All this by Boxall and Titmus is made up fake drama. They know nothing about what Katie Ledecky is doing. They are making up their own narrative. The only real fact we know is that KL has already moved on to successfully complete the 1500 free prelims. Go ahead Boxall and Titmus waste your emotional energy on talking about KL no need to focus on the race or any other 200 freestylers wink wink wink

Troy
Reply to  anonymous
5 years ago

You’re so salty in your comments all over the site with respect to anything Ledecky and her defeat in the 400. Not just that but you’ve also got a big hate boner for the Aussie team too.

anonymous
Reply to  Troy
5 years ago

There is more than one anonymous

13 % Chinese person
Reply to  Troy
5 years ago

Needs one of those medical pens for allergic reaction . . Fill it with a seratonin & if it does not improve , Novichok .

anonymous
Reply to  13 % Chinese person
5 years ago

13% that is some kind of weird sicko comment

jim
5 years ago

I’d like to see Katie just destroy the competition as always, and this is nothing against her, but Katie looks like she’s slightly off whatever taper she normally does. She looked gassed in that final 50, and her lactic acid #’s must’ve been through the roof by the end…while I certainly see her being a caged animal for the next Olympics, I fear the rest of her World’s this year is going to be rough. She may still win the longer races, but something is different with her…don’t see her going close to personal bests at this meet….same with Haas, and some others….strange for USA to have some big names ‘missing’ on this meet so far.

The disclaimer here is… Read more »

sven
Reply to  jim
5 years ago

Re: Katie Ledecky: I think KLs stroke has changed. Her prelim 400 looked off from the start, I don’t think I saw a smooth stroke that whole race, and I think that cost her at the end. Hopefully she figures out how to make it work this week.

Re: the rest of the world catching up: Probably, which is to be expected. IMO, this is great news for the sport. The US will probably always have a solid edge in the talent pool due to population size and large genetic diversity (compared to a country like China that has a huge population but a very ethnically homogeneous society), but I think we’ve only got a decade or so left of… Read more »

12Volt
Reply to  sven
5 years ago

Another reason for the narrowing has got to be related to the fact that so many international swimmers now train in the U.S.

JudgeNot
5 years ago

I think Katie Ledecky will be fine. It’s a bit of an adjustment to join the ranks of mere mortals that do not win every race, but it’s not the end of the world. She’ll win more Olympic and WC medals, probably quite a few of them of the gold variety – and she may cherish them even more now. Losing doesn’t really tarnish a great reputation (ask Phelps or Thorpe or Sjostrom or Evans or Thompson or pretty much anyone else at that level).

Mr Piano
Reply to  Braden Keith
5 years ago

Ledecky wins 400. She’s going to be pissed.

Wow
Reply to  Braden Keith
5 years ago

I think Titmus is going to be 3:57 mid next summer – I think Katie can win if she gets her stroke back to how it was in 2016, she just seems to be rushing her stroke.
MacNeil keeps improving and improving…unless she stops she will be unstoppable next summer

Monteswim
Reply to  Braden Keith
5 years ago

Fingers crossed MacNeil doesn’t turn into the next Schooling

Ol' Longhorn
Reply to  Monteswim
5 years ago

He’s got the bling tho.

Robbos
Reply to  Braden Keith
5 years ago

Neither in IMO, Ledecky will have the 800/1500 to win & obtain immortality (which I think she already has).

JudgeNot
Reply to  Braden Keith
5 years ago

Both? Neither? Lol. Don’t know. Time waits for no man or woman, and both Titmus and McNeil are young women on a rapid ascent. We’ll have a better idea by next spring if the youngsters continue to progress and the (can’t use the word “oldsters” – that’s me, not women in their 20’s) stars take this kick in the pants as motivation.

I wouldn’t bet against either Ledecky or Sjostrom just yet. I’d guess they both want to get back into training TODAY with a new sense of urgency (maybe one of them more than the other, based on how they reacted and what I read about them).

dcswim
5 years ago

Best 400 free at worlds since ’98 Thorpe

Texas Tap Water
Reply to  dcswim
5 years ago

https://youtu.be/ZZ9w3fsBWwY

15 yo, in briefs, world champion. The way he blitzed past Hackett was something else.

Justin Thompson
5 years ago

Great perspective from coach Boxall, striking a sense of fear or urgency in his swimmer for continued motivation.

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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