Albanese, Thorpe lead tributes as Titmus retires from swimming

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and swimming great Ian Thorpe have led the tributes to Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus, who announced her immediate retirement from competitive swimming on Thursday morning.

After months of speculation – and over a year out of the pool since the Paris Olympics – Titmus, a four-time Olympic gold-medallist, confirmed her decision in an emotional Instagram video to her 219,000 followers.

Titmus, who broke the news to her coach Dean Boxall before anyone else, said health issues at the back end of 2023 influenced her decision. Titmus had surgery to remove benign tumours on her ovary, a procedure she thought at the time may prevent her from having children.

The 25-year-old told this masthead in January she intended to resume training in July. Though Boxall tried at various points during the year to encourage her back in the water for a tilt at the 2028 LA Olympics, Titmus hangs up her goggles as arguably the greatest female swimmer Australia has produced.

Overall, Titmus won eight Olympic and nine world championship medals.

“I am here to announce that I’ve made the decision to retire from competitive swimming,” Titmus said. “A tough one, a really tough one, but one that I’m really happy with.

“I’ve always loved swimming. It’s been my passion since I was 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. Here we are.

“I think a turning point for me was in the lead up to the Paris Games when I went through some health challenges, which quite frankly, rocked me mentally. It probably was the first time when I considered some things outside of swimming.

“I think delving more into those health challenges, I’ve really had to look within and think about what’s most important to me. I’ve just realised that those goals and what I want in my future is now more important to me.”

In a letter to her seven-year-old self, Titmus said: “The pursuit was unrelenting and you gave it every skerrick of yourself. You walk away knowing every stone was turned, no regrets. You’re fulfilled, content and happy.”

Within minutes of her announcement, high-profile athletes and celebrities offered their congratulations to Titmus, who moved from Tasmania to Queensland with her family in 2015 to pursue her dream of becoming an Olympian.

Titmus, who broke multiple world records in her decorated career, famously beat American Katie Ledecky, the greatest female swimmer in history, in the 2019 world championships in her favoured 400m freestyle event before picking up a remarkable Olympic gold in the same event two years later in Tokyo.

“There’s nothing like the first [Olympic gold medal],” Titmus said. “To achieve your lifelong goal in an instant is something that’s really hard to replicate. To become a legend, you have to beat a legend to win Olympic gold, and I didn’t have to be the best in the world. I had to beat the greatest ever.”

Ledecky was quick to laud Titmus, writing on Instagram: “An outstanding competitor, champion and person! Congratulations.”

Albanese wrote: “Congratulations Ariarne on an amazing career! You have done Australia proud in and out of the pool.”

Five-time Olympic champion Kaylee McKeown said Titmus was an “inspiration”, while teammate and rival Mollie O’Callaghan said she was “grateful” to have been with her on the journey.

Thorpe, a five-time Olympic champion who has called some Titmus’ biggest races, wrote “Thank you for dreaming big, 7yo Ariarne! A joy to watch and a pleasure to be around. You’ve inspired many 7yo and more to dream big!”

Kyle Chalmers, Summer McIntosh, Steph Rice, Jess Fox and James Magnussen were among other Olympians to praise the 200m freestyle world record holder.

Those closest to Titmus had known for some time she was contemplating retirement, even though the temptation to chase a 400m freestyle three-peat in LA persisted. Instead of being remembered as one whose powers waned at the end of her career, Titmus has gone out on top, leaving a legacy like few others.

She has a promising broadcast career ahead of her, is busy on the public speaking circuit and has strong brand partnerships that will help in her post-career journey.

Boxall, who became a household name after his wild celebration following Titmus’ 400m freestyle gold in Tokyo, knew this day was coming. He has been a source of motivation for so many years, convincing Titmus she always had what it took, but on this occasion, he didn’t try and convince her otherwise.

“The old Dean would have said, ‘No Arnie, you need to be in the pool’. He was actually the opposite,” Titmus said. “We set out to do everything we planned. The battle that we went on to win has made us closer than ever.

“I don’t think I could have done it with anyone else. He had the ability to dream even bigger than me. I feel all my achievements are just as much his. I will never be able to repay him.”