ExclusiveAriarne Titmus: Olympic champion on retiring at 25, pressure and Siobhan Haughey

Ariarne Titmus was the swimmer who “ate pressure for breakfast”, adding two Olympic golds in Paris to the pair she won in Tokyo in 2021, before her retirement last October at the tender age of 25. Good news, perhaps, for Siobhan Haughey, the “very tough but graceful” competitor who claimed Olympic 200m freestyle silver behind Titmus in 2021. After the same final in the French capital three years later, the usually composed, bubbly and eloquent Titmus was unable to stem a flood of tears as she spoke in a heaving media zone at Paris La Defense Arena. She had finished second to fellow Australian Mollie O’Callaghan, with Haughey, who Titmus believes is capable of securing her own golden moment in Los Angeles in 2028, coming home third. “I was so paranoid about the media seeing me upset because I didn’t want anyone to think it was a reaction to losing,” Titmus told the South China Morning Post. In reality, Titmus was “overcome with emotional energy”, stemming from the relief that her two priority events, the 400m freestyle, which she won, and the 200m freestyle, in which she still owns the world record, were over. “I felt a lot of pressure from back home to win, which I usually enjoyed,” Titmus said. “When I was 16, [four-times Olympic gold medallist] Cate Campbell said to me, ‘You eat pressure for breakfast, you love it’. “But sometimes it can get a bit too much. I had a shaky final few weeks of training and started to wonder whether I was going to be good enough. I’d never felt that in my swimming career, never stood behind the blocks and thought, ‘I have to beat these girls’. It was always, ‘They have to beat me’. “When you have the tiniest doubt, the pressure pounces.” Olympics preparations that had appeared in fine order when Titmus won two golds from the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka were stalled when she had two benign tumours detected on her right ovary. The diagnosis, which Titmus feared would leave her unable to have children, heavily contributed to her early retirement. “That was probably the most defining point in my life,” she said. “I’d had such tunnel vision. I put swimming first, always, and every decision I made was with a view to whether it would help me in the pool. “[The health scare] made me realise what’s most important in life, what I want in my future. Olympic golds are great, but they’re not everything. They don’t define me. “That taste of life without swimming [during treatment], alongside the thoughts and feelings I had post-procedure, made it feel right to step away.” Having taken an extended break following the 2024 Games, Titmus announced seven months ago that she had competed for the last time. She was 23 at the time of her final race, the 800m freestyle in Paris, where, liberated from the stress of her all-consuming 200m and 400m efforts, she claimed silver. “I’m lucky that I’ve had a good transition out of sport, but there are certainly days when it’s not easy,” said Titmus, who began a relationship with her partner Mac in late 2024. “I really miss the routine, and waking up every day to work towards a finite goal. “Some weeks can be frantic and I’ll feel fulfilled, others I might have nothing work-wise, so I have to fill my days with different things. “I have to recognise that it’s okay to have a day where I just tidy the house and cook dinner. As an athlete going for Olympic gold, your work ethic is not normal. Comparing anything I do with what I did in the pool is not going to stack up. “I remind myself that what I did was amazing, but I hope what I do next will be amazing, too. I’ll just feel a different way, because it’s a different life.” From the small Tasmanian city of Launceston, Titmus, who uprooted with her family to Brisbane at 14 to aid her swimming, has “plans in the pipeline” to unearth more gems from outside Australia’s big cities. “Swimming is such a dominant sport in Australia, but it can be better,” said Titmus, whose home pool was renamed in her honour four years ago. “Launceston has a population of around 90,000, it’s freezing most of the time and the outdoor pools are shut for seven months of the year, but I made it from there. There’s so much untapped potential around the country, and I want to help inspire those kids.” A World Championships 200m freestyle silver medallist in both 2019 and 2023, with Hong Kong’s Haughey fourth in both instances, Titmus has “nothing but great words to say” about her longtime foe. “She was a very tough competitor but every time I interacted with her she was so graceful, really kind and showed great sportsmanship,” Titmus said. “I really admired her fearlessness. In the 200m freestyle she was up against a lot of middle-distance athletes who had great back-end speed. She was one of the few coming up from the 100m and getting on podiums. “To always take it out fast, props to her. She has incredible, easy speed that I never had.” It is in the shorter distance that Titmus believes Haughey, who has two Olympic silvers and two bronzes, can triumph in LA in two years at the age of 30. “There’s massive depth in the 100m but no one’s really standing out,” Titmus said. “I wonder if [Haughey’s] going to get that breakthrough, because it would be massive in Hong Kong. If she races the 200, she’ll be there [competing for honours], too. “I loved that she was always a challenge when we raced. She has incredible skills and her longevity is amazing.” In her role as a Laureus ambassador, Titmus last month visited Hong Kong. Among her assignments, she headlined a Laureus Sport For Good visit to Renaissance College in Ma On Shan to witness first-hand the work of the charitable Splash Foundation, which introduces swimming to children and adults from disadvantaged communities. “Laureus and Splash are creating an environment where kids who might otherwise be left on the sidelines are safe, seen and supported,” Titmus said. “I’m proud to help bring that opportunity to more children and young people ... and I feel grateful to have this platform. “Having an impact in this way is a big part of what I want to do with my new-found time.” Titmus’ television presenter father, Steve, recently detailed the “extremely lonely” and regimented life his single-minded daughter lived for her sport. She missed her school formal because she had to train the following morning. “I truly believe I was born with [a serious work ethic],” Titmus said. “I’ve never spoken to a sports psych. I felt my mind was my biggest asset as a competitor, and I never wanted to tinker with it. “I hardly ever struggled with motivation and I always wanted to be at training; I enjoyed it more than racing. My mum said that as a little girl I was fearless. Even in life outside swimming, I’d jump into things and hang on for the ride.” In contemplative moments during her career, Titmus, commonly known as ‘Arnie’ or ‘The Terminator’ in a nod to her competitive spirit, would look in a mirror and tell the face looking back what she liked about herself. “I told myself I was the best trainer, the best at various swimming things, but also that I’m a great daughter, a caring friend and an empathetic person,” she said. “I’ve got a lot of love to give, which I think should be celebrated. A lot of people saw only a snippet of me when I competed, but behind anyone there are so many layers.” Still a regular in the pool for fun, because “I’d regret it if I lost my sense of feel of the water and I want my kids to be able to swim with me”, Titmus recently confronted her “biggest fear” when she swam in shark-infested waters in the Bahamas for a television series that will air in Australia this month. “I wanted to put myself in a situation outside my comfort zone, and I’d have regretted it if I said no, but it was the most petrifying thing I’ve done,” Titmus said. “I would never do it again but my perspective on sharks has changed. I’m still scared of them, but I’m amazed at these creatures that live underwater on our planet. “There’s a huge narrative in Australia about trying to kill sharks because there are regular attacks [on swimmers]. I saw how ferocious they could be, but if they really wanted to eat you, they’d swallow you whole.” After three Commonwealth Games golds in 2018 launched the 17-year-old Titmus into the global consciousness, she finished an astonishing career with eight Olympic medals in total, and nine from World Championships, including four gold. Still, she is steadfast in her wish to not be defined by her aptitude in the water. “I want people, when they have met me, to say I’m a better person than I am a swimmer,” Titmus said. “It doesn’t matter how good you are at your job – how you carry yourself as a person is the most important thing. I hope that when anyone meets me, I leave an authentic and lasting impression.” On that score, she is assured of more success.

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Australian superstar swimmer reflects on ‘defining point in my life’, fearless work ethic and ‘eating pressure for breakfast’

Australian superstar swimmer reflects on ‘defining point in my life’, fearless work ethic and ‘eating pressure for breakfast’