Ariarne Titmuss: Four-time Australian swimming star and Olympic gold medalist retires aged 25

She is a two-time Olympic champion in the 400-meter freestyle, winning in Tokyo in 2021 and in Paris last year. She also won gold in the 200-meter freestyle in Tokyo and was part of the Australian team that won the 4×200-meter freestyle relay in Paris.

Before the Paris Games, Titmus underwent surgery to remove an ovarian tumor, which she referred to in Thursday’s announcement, saying she faced health challenges that “really shook me mentally.”

After 18 years of swimming, and having just turned 25, “it seems like the right time to step away from swimming,” she wrote in a letter to her seven-year-old self that she shared on Instagram.

“The chase was relentless, and you gave it everything you could. You walk away knowing that every stone has been turned, and you have no regrets. You are satisfied, satisfied, and happy.”

American swimmer Katie Ledecky – Titmus’ rival who beat the Australian to win gold in the 400m freestyle in Paris – responded to the ad, saying Titmus was “a competitor, a champion and an outstanding person”.

Fellow Australian Olympic swimmer Molly O’Callaghan, who beat Titmuss in the 200m freestyle in Paris to win gold, congratulated her former teammate on an “amazing career”.