Welcome to the race of the games

Paris: For the holder of the current world record, what is a GOAT? Who holds the world record now that could be inducted into the Hall of Fame? To a dreamer, what are all of them?

On the first night of the Paris Games, the four—the greatest of all time, the world record holder, the potential Hall of Famer, and the dreamer—will probably swim. The “Race of the Century” moniker has already been given to it.

“Race of the Century” is a good place to start when it comes to sporting exaggerations. It may not be particularly creative, but its meaning is obvious. Similar to a few previous editions, the Paris Games will have its own version. The 400m freestyle for women. Summer McIntosh against Ariarne Titmus against Erika Fairweather and Katie Ledecky. Every one of the four has multiple Worlds medals. McIntosh, Titmus, and Ledecky are the three that have been involved for a minimum of two years.

Fairweather joined the conversation in 2023. In front of McIntosh, the then-teen Kiwi took home bronze in the Worlds. In 2024, Fairweather won gold in a time of 3:59.44 at a Worlds without Ledecky, McIntosh, or Titmus. One more swimmer breaking the enchanted four-minute mark. She would be the favorite to win gold in most Olympics at a moment like that. She is the fourth favorite for first in Paris. Thus, it’s essentially the following matchup: McCIntosh, who has proven she can beat everyone, versus Fairweather, who could very well defeat them all, at least in the future, versus the woman who beats everyone (Titmus), against the woman (Ledecky), who beats everyone generally aside from the woman who beats everybody.