Olympic Games: Mollie O’Callaghan BEATS Ariarne Titmus to win gold in Paris

Mollie O’Callaghan has triumphed over her training partner and the former Olympic champion, Ariarne Titmus, to win gold in Paris.

The Aussie superstars both cruised into the 200m freestyle final as the top-two qualifiers, setting up the mother of all showdowns between the two club-mates – who are both trained by the same coach, Dean Boxall.

Titmus was seeking to become the first swimmer to successfully defend 200m and 400m freestyle titles at an Olympic Games, and was the favourite heading into the race having performed better in the semi-finals.

She also broke O’Callaghan’s 200m freestyle record just six weeks before Monday’s huge race.

But O’Callaghan saved her best effort for the perfect moment, touching the wall ahead of her teammate to take the gold.

The 21-year-old was lurking behind Titmus as the Tokyo champion looked to assert herself in the first 150 metres.

It was at the final turn that O’Callaghan really put the jets on, bursting ahead of Titmus to clock a time of 1.53:27.

Titmus, meanwhile, was over half a second slower, coming in for silver with 1:53.81.

Mollie O’Callaghan has won gold in the women’s 200m freestyle at the Olympic Games

O’Callaghan defeated Tokyo champion and teammate Ariarne Titmus in the final

Boxall, who has remained neutral throughout the build up, was seen giving a thumbs up when the camera panned to him at the conclusion of the race.

It is O’Callaghan’s second gold medal of the Paris Olympics, having taken the top prize in the 4x100m women’s freestyle relay on Saturday night.

‘It’s such an honour to be with everyone, and compete against Arnie,’ O’Callaghan said.

‘She is an absolute gun. She races like an absolute beast. And it’s an honour to train alongside her and have such a great team around us.’

Titmus was seen raising her teammate’s arm aloft to congratulate her after the race, and paid credit to Boxall for his efforts in mentoring them both.

‘I think he should be so proud of his efforts. He is a brilliant coach,’ she said.

‘To manage this and have the two fastest girls in the world is a credit to him. It’s not just us, opening night he contributed to every medal that we won as a coach.’