Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus proclaims swimming retirement aged 25

Australia’s four-time Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus has surprised the swimming world by asserting her shock retirement from the game, aged 25.

Titmus, who famously rose to world prominence on the Tokyo Games in 2021 the place she triumphed over Katie Ledecky in an epic girls’s 400m race, had taken the complete season off following final 12 months’s Olympics in Paris and was anticipated to make her return to the pool within the coming months. However, on Thursday morning, she took to Instagram to substantiate she would now not be representing Australia within the pool.

“I’ve made the decision to retire from competitive swimming,” stated Titmus. “A tough one. A really tough one, but one that I’m really happy with. I love swimming, but I guess I’ve taken this time away from the sport and realised some things in my life are just a bit more important to me now than swimming.

“My complete swimming profession, I’ve been all or nothing, and that is how I’ve needed to be to turn out to be the athlete I’m. But I feel a turning level for me, or a time when a change was flicked, was within the lead-up to the Paris Games. I went by means of some well being challenges which, fairly frankly, actually rocked me, mentally. It in all probability was the primary time the place I thought of some issues exterior of swimming.”

Titmus had underwent surgery to remove benign tumours on her ovary eight months out from the Olympics in Paris.

Her plan was to always take a hiatus after competition in the French capital had concluded, with the aim to ramp back up for an Olympic swansong at Los Angeles in 2028.

“I all the time meant to return,” said Titmus. “I by no means thought Paris could be my final Olympic Games and figuring out now what I do know I want I had have perhaps loved that final race a little bit bit extra.”

Titmus backed up her 400m freestyle triumph over Ledecky in Tokyo with gold in the same race in Paris last year. She also took out the 200m freestyle in Tokyo and anchored Australia to gold in the 4x200m relay last summer for her fourth Olympic title.

The Tasmanian retires having won 33 international medals, including eight Olympic medals (four gold, three silver and one bronze) and four world titles. She is also the current 200m freestyle world record holder.

“I really feel so grateful that I’ve had these alternatives,” said Titmus. “Swimming has taught me to not be afraid to chase your goals. I in all probability should not have turn out to be an Olympic champion. I come from probably the most southern place on this nation. It’s freezing. The swimming pools aren’t open open air for seven months of the 12 months. And I used to be capable of take it to the world. Anything is feasible if you happen to work for it.”