Erika Fairweather won her heat in a time of 4 minutes and 2:55 seconds. Photo: AFP/JONATHAN NACKSTRAND
It has been dubbed by international media "the race of the century". Other outlets have adopted the punnier "splash of the Titans".
Whatever your preferred moniker, New Zealand's Erika Fairweather has secured her place in what is considered the greatest showdown in women's swimming of all time.
Only five women in history, including Fairweather, have swum the 400m event in under four minutes. Four of them will line up in the final on Saturday morning (NZT) as the Paris 2024 aquatics programme gets off to an explosive start.
The Dunedin swimmer qualified third fastest for the showdown, behind US superstar Katie Ledecky and defending Olympic champion and current world record holder Ariarne Titmus of Australia.
Canadian teen sensation Summer McIntosh, who held the world record for a brief period in 2023 before it was reclaimed by Titmus, qualified in fourth after finishing just behind Fairweather in heat two.
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It was a composed and confident first outing from Fairweather, who, despite being the reigning world champion in the event, has mostly flown under the radar in the lead-up. Her performance in front of a frenzied 15,000-strong crowd at La Defense Arena changed that.
After the race, Fairweather told media she was ready to shake up the world order in the final.
"I'd like to think [the big three know I'm here], I haven't made my presence unknown. Who knows what will happen tonight, I'm all for shaking things up and I will give it my best go.
"The women's 400m free field has been on the rise for a couple of years now. In Tokyo [at the 2021 Olympics] I was an inexperienced rookie and going in now I'm a lot more experienced, I have a bit more age behind me and I'm really excited about it."
Lined up in lane five with McIntosh to her left, Fairweather led at every split, keeping her pacing consistent between 30.50 and 31.50 seconds per lap.
Her Canadian rival put in a late push over the final 100m, but Fairweather held on to win the heat in a time of 4 minutes and 2.55 seconds, with McIntosh 10 one hundredths of a second back.
New Zealand's Eve Thomas finished eighth in a time of 4:11.86 and will not advance to the final.
Fairweather said she executed her race plan to perfection, ensuring she had left something in the tank for the final.
Erika Fairweather won New Zealand's first-ever world championship earlier this year in Doha. Photo: MANAN VATSYAYANA / AFP
"I knew I had to be fast this morning to put myself in a good position for the finals, so I'm really excited to see what tonight brings," the 20-year-old said.
"The first one at the Olympics you don't know where you're going to sit, but I'm really happy with how I sat today."
Fairweather said she fed off the electric atmosphere of the crowd in La Defense Arena, which had been converted from a rugby stadium to an aquatic venue for the Olympic Games.
"It was so exciting. The crowd was absolutely deafening when we walked behind the blocks. It was really special, my family were just sitting there in eyeline when I was walking out, so knowing they were there was really cool as well."
In the third and final heat of the 400m event, Ledecky (4:02.19) just out-touched Titmus (4:02.46) after the pair jostled for much of the race. Both women were clearly holding back for the final showdown.
Earlier in the session, Hazel Ouwehand got New Zealand's swimming programme under way in the women's 100m butterfly.
Ouwehand made a strong start in her heat and was third at the turn, but faded over the final 50m to finish sixth in a time of 58.03 seconds - missing a place in the semifinals.
The 400m freestyle final will be raced at 6:55am NZT.
