Katie Ledecky places third in 400-meter freestyle as rival Ariarne Titmus wins gold

Katie Ledecky dropped her first showdown with Australian rival Ariarne Titmus, finishing third in the women’s 400-meter freestyle Saturday with a time of 4:00.86 at the Paris Olympics.

Titmus, known as “The Terminator,” was favored to win the 400-meter freestyle entering the Olympics, but Ledecky delivered the fastest time during the preliminaries to set up a dramatic final. Titmus, however, had the stronger run during the final and took gold with a time of 3:57.49.

Ledecky, 27, would have been the oldest woman to ever win the event at the Olympics.

Instead, she finished behind Titmus and Canadian Summer McIntosh (3:58.37).

Ledecky has three more opportunities to earn a gold medal in Paris. She has won 10 medals, including six individual, during her career that has spanned four Olympics.