Ariarne Titmus’s father, Steve, has shared the emotional moment he believes marked the end of his daughter’s illustrious career, as the swimming world continues to react to the 25-year-old’s shock retirement.
The eight-time Olympic medallist, widely regarded as one of Australia’s greatest athletes, confirmed this week that she will not return to competitive swimming after more than a decade at the top of her sport.
Steve, a 7NEWS presenter, and his wife Robyn moved from Tasmania to Queensland to help their daughter pursue her dream as a young swimmer – a journey that culminated in multiple Olympic gold medals and global acclaim.
“She’s achieved everything she wanted to achieve,” Steve told 7NEWS on Thursday.
“As a young seven-year-old girl she dreamed one day of just going to the Olympic Games. She went there, let alone to win four Olympic gold medals, and that’s what she’s actually done. So she’s achieved way beyond what she ever dreamed of doing.
“And she’s decided that that’s enough for her, and she wants to chase other things in her life. And that’s what she’s going to do.
“We’re just incredibly proud of what she’s achieved and also just how she’s become as a young woman out of the pool. And I think that is what we’re most proud of.”
Titmus had not raced since the Paris Olympics, and she revealed that time away from the pool convinced her to focus on life beyond swimming. A health scare before the Games also played a key role in her decision to retire.
Before Paris, she underwent surgery to remove two benign tumours after doctors discovered a large growth on her right ovary. She later described the experience as a “turning point”.
“A turning point for me for me or a time when a switch was flicked was in the lead-up to the Paris Games, I went through some health challenges, which quite frankly really rocked me mentally,” Titmus said.
The experience forced her to reflect on life beyond swimming for the first time and reconsider what truly mattered to her.
She explained that while swimming had always been her top priority, her health challenges made her realise that her personal goals and future outside the pool had become more important.
Ultimately, she said she felt ready to close one chapter and is eager to see what the future holds.
While Titmus only recently told her family about her decision, her father revealed there was a moment at the Paris Olympics that now stands out to him as her silent goodbye to the sport.
After her final race – the 800m freestyle against long-time rival Katie Ledecky – Titmus finished second and admitted she didn’t recognise at the time that it would be her last competitive swim.
“After she swam the 800m at the Paris Olympics, at the pool in Paris, the swimmers had to walk up a stairwell and around the back of the grandstand. Arnie walked to the top of that, and she turned around and actually looked around at the pool,” Steve said on Friday on SEN Radio.
“I remember seeing her doing that, and I thought to myself what a moment that was. I think back to that actual moment and think that was a really special moment. Now looking, now she has retired, was that the universe saying, ‘she was looking back knowing it was her final Olympic moment.’”
Steve said he did not realise the significance of that instant until after Ariarne made her decision public.
“I remember seeing the moment…I didn’t really think a lot of it at the time. And I haven’t thought about it much since until recently when Arnie came to us…that’s when I remembered back to that moment,” he said.
“I always thought to myself, if only I had that photograph. Looking back on it now, I really think to myself that perhaps if Arnie had of spoken to us prior to Paris and said ‘I reckon I might retire after the Paris Olympics’, if she had’ve said that I know that moment would have really sunk in.”
Steve reflected on the moments that defined his daughter’s extraordinary journey, including her first Olympic gold medal in Tokyo – a moment he describes as “quite extraordinary,” despite being unable to attend due to COVID restrictions.
“All of the swimming families, we gathered at Noosa to watch the Olympic Games,” he said.
“And when that unfolded, that race against Katie Ledecky, and Basil Zempilas said ‘to be a legend, you have to beat a legend’ that was one of those real moments in history and a moment for us as a family that we will never forget.
“Because it was like, wow, she’s actually done it. She’s actually won an Olympic gold medal. And that will stick with us forever because it truly was an absolute unbelievable moment.
“And then we got that chance, of course, to see her race in Paris at the Olympic Games and once again win the 400m (freestyle) gold medal and defeat Katie Ledecky. And that was labelled as the race of the century.
“Those two moments will sit with us as really things that, as a family, you know, we feel quite humbled and quite fortunate that we’ve had a daughter who’s been able to achieve such greatness.
“She’s a young girl who’s been enormously proud of what she’s been able to achieve, but also how she’s been able to inspire the next generation of young swimmers,” he said.
“So I’m sure that in some way, shape or form, she’s probably going to be involved with swimming.
“She’s also had a taste of the corporate world. She’s had a taste of broadcasting, doing some work here with Seven as well.
“Who knows what is ahead for her, but all we know is that we’re so much looking forward to what the next chapter brings.”
In her retirement announcement, Titmus admitted she never expected to walk away from swimming so young, and that she wished she had savoured her final race more deeply.
“I always intended to return. I never thought Paris would be my last Olympic Games. Knowing what I know now, maybe I wish I had enjoyed that last race a little bit more,” she said.
Titmus made history in Paris by defeating Ledecky and McIntosh in the 400m freestyle – a race dubbed the “race of the century” – to claim her third individual Olympic gold medal. In doing so, she became the first Australian athlete since Dawn Fraser in 1964 to win back-to-back gold medals in the same event.
As she looks to life beyond the pool, Steve Titmus said the family remains “humbled and fortunate” to have witnessed her journey – and that they are ready to support her next chapter.
Images: Instagram
