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US swimming queen Katie Ledecky's Olympic crown began to slip in Tokyo on Monday morning when she lost to Australia's Ariarne Titmus by less than a second in a hard-fought 400-meter free-style final.
The quadruple Rio 2016 gold medalist could only manage silver after she lost the neck and neck battle to Australian rival Titmus by 67 hundredths of a second.
Ledecky had been leading for much of the race but Titmus slipped past the US champion in the neighboring lane in the final 50-meter to touch the wall a fraction of a second ahead.
China's Li Bingiie claimed bronze.
Ledecky said she gave it her all, but her rival was too good for her.
'I've had some tough ones over the years. It was certainly a tough race and I delivered,' she said.
'I couldn't do much better than that. [It was] a tremendous race, a lot of fun.
'I can't be too disappointed. It was my second best swim ever [over 400-meter freestyle]. I felt like I fought tooth and nail and that's all you can ask for.'
Katie Ledecky took home silver in the 400-meter freestyle on Monday in Tokyo
Ledecky (right) and Titmus (left) pulled well ahead of the pack by the first 200 meters
Titmus and Ledecky celebrate following an incredibly close race that saw Titmus take out first place in the last few meters
Ledecky said she gave it her all, but her rival was too good for her
Ledecky said the new Olympic champion Titmus outsmarted her.
'She definitely swam a really smart race. She was really controlled up front. I felt smooth and strong. I looked up at 300m and she was right there