American swimming superstar Katie Ledecky has go the first-ever Olympic golden medallist successful the women's 1500m freestyle, but the triumph didn't travel earlier a battering of disapproval from USA media.
Ledecky whitethorn nary longer beryllium the queen of the swimming satellite aft being dethroned by emerging Australian aureate miss Ariarne Titmus successful some the 400m and 200m freestyle events astatine the Tokyo Games.
Ledecky had headed to Tokyo arsenic the reigning 400m and 200m freestyle Olympic champion, having won some events successful Rio successful 2016, but she collected metallic successful the 400m and was adjacent much disappointing successful the 200m, finishing 5th arsenic she failed to triumph a medal successful an idiosyncratic lawsuit for the archetypal clip successful her Olympic career.
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The five-time Olympic golden medallist had besides arrived astatine Tokyo arsenic the 400m freestyle satellite grounds holder, laying assertion to a clip of 3:56.46.
But Titmus mowed her down successful the 400m last to triumph successful 3:56.69 arsenic Ledecky posted 3:57.36, the 20-year-old Australian trailing astatine the last crook but charging location to clinch her archetypal Olympic golden medal.
Then successful the 200m final, Titmus was again victorious connected her mode to clocking 1:53.50, a caller Olympic record, arsenic the fifth-placed Ledecky slumped to a clip of 1:55.21.
Matthew Futterman of The New York Times was among the galore Ledecky critics successful America pursuing her losses to Titmus successful the 400m and 200m finals.
"Five years aft her triumph successful Rio de Janeiro ... Ledecky was acold disconnected Titmus's pace, finishing fifth, and she intelligibly has each that she tin negociate astatine distances of 400m oregon less," Futterman wrote.
In the aforesaid article, the seasoned American writer delivered Titmus tremendous praise.
"Five days into the Olympic aquatics meet, 1 happening has go perfectly clear: Ariarne Titmus is accelerated becoming swimming's caller queen."
Rick Maese of The Washington Post was highly blunt successful his appraisal of Ledecky's archetypal 2 races of the Games.
"The finishing times glowed agleam overhead, but the scoreboard astatine Tokyo Aquatics Centre mightiness arsenic good person read: Ariarne Titmus 2, Katie Ledecky 0," Maese wrote.
"Ledecky got disconnected to a comparatively dilatory commencement successful the 200 last and was successful seventh spot astatine the archetypal turn. She was slower with each ensuing 50m divided and was ne'er capable to situation the race's front-runners."
American sports writer Paul Newberry of Associated Press was besides scathing of Ledecky's 200m performance.
"Ledecky wasn't adjacent adjacent successful the 200, making the archetypal flip successful seventh spot and ne'er getting higher than her fifth-place showing astatine the end," Newberry wrote.
"The defending Olympic champion finished successful 1:55.21 – astir 2 seconds down the winner."
Newberry's besides wrote: "Ledecky was a large favourite for golden successful that contention (the 1500m), which is caller to the women's programme this year, giving her a accidental to rapidly marque up for the disappointment of the worst Olympic showing of her career."
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