Paris 2024 Olympics: From health scare to heroics, Ariarne Titmus’ rocky road to the Games
Australian swimming sensation Ariarne Titmus emerged from her Tokyo 2020 Olympic debut on top of the world.
Titmus brought home four Olympic medals, including two golds, after dethroning the legendary Katie Ledecky in the 400 metres freestyle in one of the most highly anticipated clashes of the Games.
But her momentum didn't stop there; the 23-year-old has since shattered multiple world records and amassed several World Championship titles.
Titmus seemed unstoppable. But, as the Olympic Games Paris 2024 loomed, a new and unexpected challenge surfaced.
Ariarne Titmus: "This was a scary time for me"
In September 2023, Titmus was managing an ongoing hip injury when the doctors picked up something in an MRI that made everything else feel "irrelevant".
"A large growth was found on my right ovary," the swimmer disclosed in an Instagram post. "For anyone that knows me, they’d know I’d give up anything in the world to be a mother, it’s my biggest dream so this was a scary time for me."
The discovery was a shocking turn of events for the world and Olympic champion. At just 23, Titmus faced profound and unsettling questions about her future, both as an athlete and as a woman. Would the surgery be successful? Would she be able to have children? How would this affect her career? The stakes were high and the uncertainty was daunting.
"I was told there was a risk, and that because the growth was so large that they could actually take the ovary as well," she said. The prospect of losing her ovary and the potential impact on her dreams of motherhood loomed large.
"Being an athlete is tough. Being a woman is tough," said Titmus. “I've learned more about my body and what it is capable of." Adding that "being fit and healthy doesn’t mean you’re immune to these things".
Ariarne Titmus on Paris 2024: "These can be my Games"
Fortunately, the surgery was a success and Titmus received the all-clear to resume her journey toward Paris 2024.
Step one was making the team, which she did in style by shattering the 200m world record at the Australian swimming trials in June.
She radiated confidence, stating that: "I truly believe that these can be my Games."
TItmus now sets her sights on Paris, aiming to conquer rivals Ledecky and Summer McIntosh. She acknowledges the fierce competition, particularly from McIntosh, who recently broke her world record. "I know that when she broke my 400m world record she raced completely without fear, so she's got that inside of her," she said of the 17-year old Canadian challenger.
McIntosh, who was just 14 years of age at her Olympic debut in Tokyo 2020, claimed a notable fourth-place finish in the 400m freestyle.
Yet Titmus remains undeterred. "I know that I have this ability to find something extra in races and in training which maybe some people can't."
As for Ledecky's reign as the greatest female swimmer of all time, Titmus humbly stated: "I'm definitely not searching for that, and it's not why I swim. But I know if I go to Paris and achieve what I want to, I believe I'm potentially in that realm."
With two world records under her belt, Titmus enters Paris stronger and more determined than ever, ready to keep her place at the top.
Can Titmus defend her title? Will Ledecky take back what was stolen from her in Tokyo? Or will McIntosh continue to shock the world?
The women's 400m freestyle heats begin 27 July, with another epic Titmus-Ledecky-McIntosh rematch on the cards.