Mollie O’Callaghan wins hearts with "unbelievable" podium act
In a race for the ages, Australian swimming stars Ariarne Titmus and Mollie O'Callaghan went up against each other in the Paris Olympics for the 200m freestyle.
20-year-old O'Callaghan snatched her first individual Olympic gold medal, with a stunning time of one minute and 53.27 seconds on Tuesday morning, and Titmus came in close second with 1:53.81.
Her triumph delivers Australia's fifth gold medal at the Paris Olympics and in a touching moment of sportsmanship, she chose to celebrate her victory with Titmus by inviting her to stand alongside her on the top step of the podium for the national anthem.
“A touch of class as Mollie shares the gold medal position on the dais with Ariarne. They are both great champions,” commentator Mat Thompson said.
“Unbelievable to share the victory dais, to do that was just something special. Wonderful human beings,” host Eddie McGuire.
Mollie O’Callaghan inviting Ariarne Titmus onto the gold medal plinth to share the moment at the 200m freestyle medal ceremony - one of the great images of the #Olympics already 😍 #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/JffNfuvJWl
— Andrew Hawkins (@AndrewNJHawkins) July 29, 2024
Olympic champion Mack Horton praised the duo on Sunrise: “It was beautiful, it’s the same national anthem so it’s beautiful — they can stand there together and enjoy it. Really special moment for Australia.”
In a shared interview after the triumphant medal ceremony, O’Callaghan and Titmus were both in tears, “happy tears, you live for these moments,” Titmus said.
“I know what it’s like to be Olympic champion and I’m happy that Mol gets to feel that now. I felt up there like I’d won as well. It’s really special to do this with a teammate,” the silver medallist told Nine.
O'Callaghan also helped Australia win the 4x100m freestyle relay final.
The gold medallist was overwhelmed with emotion when she said: “I’ll let it sink in but seeing my mum and dad that kind of hit me a little bit. I kind of swim for them.”
“They’ve put a lot of time and dedication into my swimming, I wouldn’t be here without them.”
O'Callaghan also said that it was “such an honour” to battle her training partner.
“She’s an absolute gun,” she told Nine.
“She races like an absolute beast and it’s an honour to train alongside her and have such a great team around us.
“That was an amazing race ... I did it for the country, I didn’t do it for myself.”
Images: Nine/ X