The swimming race of the century will pit Ariarne Titmus against Katie Ledecky at the Paris Olympics

The personalities create compelling rivalries and the three women, all at different stages of their careers, come to Paris giving off different vibes.

Ledecky is an elder stateswoman, a seven-time Olympic gold medalist, who chooses her words carefully, not wanting to provide extra motivation in a race that could be decided in the blink of an eye.

McIntosh, who made her Olympic debut in Tokyo at just 14, has developed into a determined competitor, but her confidence in the pool contrasts with her discomfort in the spotlight.

Titmus brings a confidence that sometimes borders on arrogance, respectfully assuring that Ledecky wouldn’t get everything she wanted in Paris.

“She (Ledecky) was constantly on my mind,” Titmus said. “But honestly, not really (anymore) because I know my best asset is the best, so I’m just going to do it, do my best.”

“The 400 is the first day. Everyone goes in fresh. Nobody knows what shape anyone is in.

“For the 400, I feel like of all the races I’ve done, this is the one where I know best how to do it.”

What the trio have in common is that they all swim fast. Very fast.

At different times, Ledecky, Titmus and McIntosh held the world record in the 400m freestyle and together they had the 28 fastest times in the history of the event.

Ledecky won 400m freestyle gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, while Titmus took the American from top of the podium to second in Tokyo.

McIntosh has yet to step foot on an Olympic podium, but that should change in Paris, where the 17-year-old is scheduled to compete in four individual events: 200 individual medley (IM), 200 butterfly, 400 freestyle and 400 IM, where she is the world record holder and two-time world champion.

“It’s pretty incredible that three current or former world record holders are swimming together in this event,” McIntosh said, looking ahead to the 400 freestyle.

“So yeah, I’m really excited to go and with it being the first day it’s definitely a great way to start swimming.

“Right now I’m just focusing on myself, like I always have. I have three more individual events to compete in. The 200m individual medley is also going to be a crazy race, so I’m trying to take it one race at a time.”

Reuters