- Pool queen is one of the greatest swimmers ever
Four-time Olympic gold medallist Ariarne Titmus has announced her shock retirement from swimming.
The 25-year-old, who grew up in Tasmania, will retire as one of the greatest distance swimmers of all time.
She said she expected to return to swimming following a break after the Olympics, but changed her mind.
‘It’s a tough one but one that I’m really happy with,’ she said in an Instagram post.
I’ve always loved swimming, it’s been my passion since I was a, a little girl, but I guess I’ve taken this time away from the sport and realised some things in my life that have always been important to me are just a little bit more important to me now than swimming and that’s OK, but yeah, here we are.’
At the Paris Olympics last year, Titmus achieved an historic third individual Olympic gold medal, winning the 400m freestyle in the race dubbed ‘the race of the century’, where she defeated the other two previous world record holders of this event – American all-time great Katie Ledecky, and Canadian swimming prodigy Summer McIntosh.
In doing so, Titmus became the first Australian athlete since Dawn Fraser in 1964 to win back-to-back gold medals in the same event.
Before the Paris Games, Titmus underwent surgery to remove an ovarian tumour.
‘I always intended to return, I never thought that Paris would be my last Olympic Games, and knowing now what I know, I wish I had’ve maybe enjoyed that last race a little bit more.
‘But I guess having this 12 months away, I had a chance to explore what life is like without swimming, and that was always my intention.
‘A turning point for me, or a time when a switch was flicked, in the lead-up to the Paris Games I went through some health challenges which, quite frankly, rocked me mentally.
‘It probably was the first time where I considered some things outside of swimming.
‘My whole swimming career I’ve been all or nothing, and that’s how I’ve had to be to become the athlete that I am. I’ve just been in this ruthless pursuit for my goals.
‘Delving more into those health challenges, I’ve really had to look within and think about what’s most important to me.
‘Beyond swimming, I’ve always had goals in my personal life … more than anything I’m excited for what’s next.’
Titmus steps away from the sport as the current 200m world record holder, having won a staggering haul of 33 international medals including eight Olympic medals – four gold, three silver and one bronze – and four world titles.
She defended her 400m freestyle title in Paris, making her the first Australian since Dawn Fraser at the 1964 Tokyo Games to win two straight golds in the same event.
In her Instagram post, Titmus said her greatest achievement is going into the Tokyo Games in 2021, where she went in as an underdog and beat the American great Katie Ledecky in the 400m free.
‘There’s nothing like the first one,’ she said of that gold medal.
‘To achieve your lifelong goal in an instant is something that’s really hard to replicate.’
The Tasmanian great opened up about her health scare in June 2024, shortly before the Paris Games, and said it had a positive effect.
‘That was probably the best thing that could have happened to me, to be honest … I’m only young once and I want to really make the most of this moment in my life,’ she said.
‘The chance that I have to race at the Olympic Games, not just being an Olympian but fighting for medals and gold medals, is very rare, so I just want to take every opportunity I can and enjoy the moment.
‘I think when I was younger I was always just looking to the next thing, to the next thing, to the next thing, but as I’m getting older I’m trying to sink into the moment and enjoy them more.’
