Agency :
Every Olympics has its defining sporting moment such as Usain Bolt in the 100metres sprint at the Beijing Summer Games 2008 or Sydney Crosby’s golden goal for Canada on home ice in Vancouver in 2010.
Some appear as if out of thin air. Others can be scheduled, as in Paris where on the opening night of competition on Saturday at the La Defense pool three world record holders could get the Summer Games off to an explosive start in a women’s 400metres freestyle showdown already being hyped as a “Race of the Century” candidate.
The United States’ Katie Ledecky, already rated one of the greatest swimmers of all-time, Australian torpedo and current world record holder Ariarne Titmus, and Canadian teen sensation Summer McIntosh are set to light up the Paris night in a race for gold that may produce a swim for the ages.
Personalities make compelling rivalries and the three women, all in different stages of their careers, come to Paris giving off different vibes.
Ledecky is the elder stateswoman, a seven-time Olympic gold medallist who chooses her words carefully not wanting to provide added motivation in a race that could be decided in the blink of an eye.