'Wouldn't Be Here Without Her': Ledecky Is Dethroned

As usual, Katie Ledecky collected a medal after an Olympic race. The unusual part on Monday was that it was silver instead of gold, reports the Wall Street Journal. Australia's Ariarne Titmus edged the US star in the 400-meter freestyle, despite trailing by a full body length at the halfway point of the race, per ESPN. Fans of Ledecky are used to seeing her finish no-drama races well ahead of the competition. In the same event at the Rio Olympics, she won this same competition by nearly 5 seconds, an eternity in swimming, notes Sports Illustrated. However, this wasn't exactly a stunning upset, with coverage referring to this as one of the most anticipated swimming matchups of the Tokyo Games.

• Ledecky: “Tremendous race, a lot of fun," she said afterward. "I can't be too disappointed with that. That was my second-best swim ever. I felt like I fought tooth and nail and that's all you can ask for.” She still aims to collect gold before the Games are over.
• Titmus: “I wouldn't be here without her,” the 20-year-old said of Ledecky, who is four years her senior. “She set this amazing standard for middle-distance freestyle for girls and if I didn't have someone like that to chase I definitely wouldn't be swimming the way I am. I'm really grateful to have her."
  

(More Katie Ledecky stories.)