Ariarne Titmus likes to view herself as just another person. “I look at myself and feel so normal,” she stated on Saturday night, just moments after clinching victory in the main event at the Paris Olympics swim meet. Shortly thereafter, she added: “I hope no one perceives me any differently – I’m just the same goofy Tassie girl, out here pursuing my dream.”
Yet, Titmus is anything but ordinary. She is truly exceptional.
It speaks volumes about the 23-year-old’s talent that she can make the extraordinary seem routine. The women’s 400m freestyle at La Défense Arena was anticipated as a thrilling showdown: Titmus against American swim star Katie Ledecky and Canadian rising star Summer McIntosh, along with a skilled supporting field.
Looking at the progression of world records, the hype surrounding this race was justified. Ledecky held the world record from 2014 until 2022, until Titmus claimed it at the Australian championships two years ago. Then, at last year’s Canadian trials, McIntosh took her turn. Yet, a mere few months later, Titmus reclaimed it.
When they last competed together at the 2023 world championships, Titmus dazzled as she regained the world record, going below 3 minutes and 56 seconds for the first time ever and defeating her closest competitor by over three seconds.
The race on Saturday, however, unfolded in a more controlled manner. Titmus managed the race with such precision that it felt almost uneventful; yet it was, without a doubt, nothing short of spectacular.
Titmus was in the lead at every turn, gliding effortlessly through the 50m pool. Tick tock, tick tock. After the initial turn, her splits never varied by more than a second: peaking at 30.44 in the penultimate lap and dipping to 29.61 in the second lap. Tick tock, tick tock.
To the casual observer, it appeared effortless, as if Titmus was competing in second gear. Her commanding presence concealed a fierce contest from McIntosh, who is just 17 yet already ranks among the world’s top swimmers. It certainly didn’t feel easy. “Buggered,” Titmus confessed when asked about her feelings post-race. But such is the extraordinary talent of this Tasmanian that her victory was never in doubt; she led from first touch to last.
Among the many astonishing statistics highlighting Titmus’s supremacy in middle-distance freestyle since she emerged in the late 2010s, the most remarkable is this: after the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in August 2018, where young Titmus finished second to Ledecky, she has not lost a single international 400m race.
This is truly phenomenal dominance over some of the world’s elite swimmers.
And she’s not done yet in Paris. On Sunday morning, just 14 hours after her 400m victory, Titmus will return to the pool for her 200m freestyle heat. She is anticipated to advance to the semi-finals on Sunday night and then to the finals on Monday evening. As the reigning Olympic champion, and with her teammate Mollie O’Callaghan as the reigning world champion, their matchup promises to be another legendary clash.
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Next Thursday, Titmus will play a crucial role in the Australian women’s 4x200m relay team, which secured the world title last year with a record-setting performance. Additionally, on Saturday, she will take part in the women’s 800m freestyle event, a race dominated by Ledecky who has claimed gold in the last three Olympics. While Ledecky remains the favorite, an in-form Titmus could very well topple her. In other words, with one race completed, Titmus remains a strong contender for two, three, or even four gold medals in Paris.
Despite her perception of being ordinary, Titmus’s journey to excellence tells a different story. Beginning her swimming journey in the Launceston pool, her father Steve would drive her to training early each morning, necessitating a 4:30 am wake-up for both. They had a pact: Titmus would set an alarm to wake her father; if she overslept, it was her responsibility to miss practice. “If I missed, it was my fault, and I never did,” Titmus recounted. “Not once in my entire swimming career.”
This unwavering commitment helped Titmus overcome the hurdles of moving from Tasmania to Brisbane at 14 to chase her swimming aspirations. It enabled her to bridge the gap of 16 seconds between her best time and Ledecky’s upon starting to train with coach Dean Boxall. It became instrumental in her first world title victory in 2019 and propelled her to an Olympic title two years later, a title she has now defended successfully.
On Saturday night, while embracing her so-called ordinariness, Titmus expressed her desire that her achievements – a girl “from little old Lonnie [Launceston]” – might motivate others. “I hope it serves as a message that anyone can achieve their goals if they put in the hard work and believe in themselves.”
There may be a valuable lesson within her story for us all. Yet, none of us are Ariarne Titmus. The middle-distance freestyle phenom from Australia transforms the extraordinary into what appears to be the ordinary, and that is anything but ordinary.
