Titmus breaks women’s 400-freestyle world record at world championships in Japan #Titmus #breaks #womens #400freestyle #world #record #world #championships #Japan

FUKUOKA, Japan (AP) — Ariarne Titmus has broken the world record in the women 400-meter freestyle in a star-studded race that featured three women who have held the mark.

Titmus swam the distance in 3 minutes, 55.38 seconds to top the record set four months ago by Summer McIntosh of Canada of 3:56.08.

The record fell on Sunday on the first day of eight in the pool at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka in southwestern Japan. Some billed it as the most compelling race of the entire championships.

FILE - Caeleb Dressel starts the men's 50-meter freestyle final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 1, 2021, in Tokyo. Dressel didn't qualify for the biggest swim meet of the year. Some of the world's greatest swimmers will miss the world championships as they deal with burnout and the enormous toll that their sport takes on their minds and bodies. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

Caeleb Dressel failed to qualify for the biggest swim meet of the year. Simone Manuel didn’t even try.

Katie Ledecky reacts after winning the women's 800-meter freestyle at the U.S. national championships swimming meet in Indianapolis, Tuesday, June 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

American freestyler Katie Ledecky has almost never gone home with anything other than a gold or silver medal in the Olympics or world championships dating from the 2012 London Games.

Regan Smith reacts after winning the women's 200-meter backstroke event at the U.S. national championships swimming meet in Indianapolis, Wednesday, June 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Regan Smith raced to the top of the swimming world while still in her teens. She didn’t really get a chance to enjoy the view.

FILE - Simone Manuel, of United States, swims in a women's 50-meter freestyle heat at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 30, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. The Soul Cap has gotten the green light from swimming's top governing body, which figures to be a huge step toward bringing more diversity to a largely white sport. The oversized cap, which is designed to make it more comfortable for Black swimmers to hit the water with natural hair, will likely have its biggest influence at the grassroots level. That, in turn, could lead to more swimmers of color reaching the sport's highest echelons in the generations to come. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

The Soul Cap has gotten the green light from swimming’s top governing body, which figures to be a huge step toward bringing more diversity to a largely white sport.

American Katie Ledecky finished second in 3:58.73 with bronze for Erika Fairweather of New Zealand in 3:59.59. Canadian McIntosh was fourth in 3:59.94.