Titmus’ stunning admission on gold

SHE’S got the gold medal to prove it really did happen but Ariarne Titmus still won’t accept she beat the GOAT fair and square.

It’s a startling admission from the Australian teenager because her stunning upset victory over Katie Ledecky at last year’s world championships in South Korea has rightly been acclaimed as one of the greatest performances in middle-distance swimming.

Everyone who witnessed their titanic battle in the 400m freestyle final saw Titmus dig deep to mow down the American superstar on the final lap but the ‘Terminator’ isn’t counting it because she doesn’t believe it was a fair fight.

“I’ve beaten her but she said she was so sick so it still kind of sits a little bit, I don’t know how to describe it, but you didn’t beat someone when they’re at their best,” Titmus said. “Imagine if she was well, I’m guessing she probably would have beaten me, I still believe she’s better than me.”

Considered invincible until then, Ledecky’s sour response to her first international defeat was noted by everyone on the pool deck in Gwangju.

The five-time Olympic gold medallist did not turn to congratulate the Australian immediately after the race, then later withdrew from the 200m and 1500m.

Titmus beat the American again to collect a second gold medal in the Australian 4x200m relay team that broke the world record but Ledecky turned the tables on her to win the individual 800m, her strongest event.

Their rematch over 400m at the Tokyo Olympics is now the blockbuster race everyone wants to see. Just how much faster each woman can go is still the unknown.

Titmus won the world title in 3:58.71, the eighth fastest time in history.

Ledecky, 23, boasts the top seven times, including the world record of 3:56.46, which she set in winning the Olympic gold medal at Rio in 2016.