Olympic Champion Ariarne Titmus will take part in a new Australian show, SHARK!, where she and other cast members will face their fear of one of the ocean’s greatest predators by swimming in shark-infested waters in the Bahamas.
Titmus, who retired from competitive swimming in October, joins a cast of five other Australian media figures, as they are guided by Paul de Gelder, a former Navy clearance diver who lost his right hand and leg in a bull shark attack in Sydney Harbor in 2009. He will also be joined on the show by shark expert and conservationist Annie Guttridge.
According to nine.com, the show will put celebrity figures in increasingly high-pressure situations, including swimming with sharks from a protected cage to swimming out in the open alongside the sharks themselves.
In a release from nineforbrands.com, de Gelder described the relationship Australians have with sharks as “deep” and “complicated”.
“Australians have a deep, complicated relationship with sharks. We’re a coastal nation — we swim, we surf, we fish. We love it. And when tragedy strikes, it hits close to home. That’s why this show matters and why Annie and I felt compelled to help create SHARK! We’re bringing something different — a series that blends intensity and drama with our real love for the ocean and the animals that call it home,” de Gelder said. “Fear is understandable, but sharks aren’t villains. They can be dangerous — yes — but they are also beautiful, vital to the health of our oceans, and worthy of respect rather than fear alone.”
Titmus joins actress Lynne McGranger, social media star Tammy Hembrow, media personality Scott Cam, rugby legend Sam Thaiday, and actor/former rugby player Matt Nable as participants on the show.
Titmus posted about the show on her Instagram, sharing that sharks are her biggest fear and that she is “petrified”.
Anyone who knows me, understands that sharks are my greatest fear- I’m absolutely petrified.
NEVER did I ever think I’d end up taking on a challenge like this.. but here we are, tackling it head on🦈🦈
SHARK! is coming soon to Channel 9 and 9Now #SharkAU
The sharks will come to realize that it is always dangerous to get between Ariarne Titmus and a television camera.
Seriously, how much in need of cash and attention does someone have to be in order to be convinced to do something like swim alongside sharks? You couldn’t pay me enough…but I guess this is why we live in an Enhanced Games and OF world.
You think adrenaline junkies and dare devils are a modern invention?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30l0-QnQD6Y
Titmus is “jumping the shark” so to speak with this show.
A lot of people still alive who saw Evel Kneivel do his thing, so yeah a pretty modern invention. But anyway, here’s hoping it works out better for Titmus than Evel Knievel, who in his career broke 433 bones, broke his back 7 times, had multiple bankruptcies, a major assault conviction, and two divorces. Knievel even had an attempt at a motorcycle jump over sharks that got cancelled, before the Fonz did it fictionally on Happy Days–resulting in the ignominious “jumping the shark” phrase.
Seems strange an Aussie TV show involving swimming with sharks is filming in the Bahamas.
Greatest freestyler of this century! The GOAT
Biggest lie of all time
Even summer is a better freestyler and she still has like 3 other events after that
Yet she could essentially never beat her in a FS event.
Titmus basically won every important 200/400 she was in for her entire career. It was incredibly impressive.
She’s way better than Ledecky and summer
Titmus did not win every “important” 200/400 race she was in for her entire career. Nice try, but far from true…
2024 Paris Olympics 200 Free–Silver
2020 Tokyo Olympics 4×200 Free Relay–Bronze
2023 Fukuoka World Championships 200 Free–Silver
2019 Gwangjiu World Championships 200 Free–Silver
2018 Tokyo Pan Pacs 400 Free–Silver
2017 Budapest World Championships 4×200 Free–Bronze
Titmus swam at just three long course World Championships in her entire career (2017, 2019, 2023) and had individual event Gold at just two–both in the 400 Free. She never won an individual 200 Free race at a LCM World Championships meet or an individual 800 Free race at either an Olympics or LCM World Championships. And once again… Read more »
I forgot how mad people still are about Titmus being amazing lol
Titmus will never be forgiven for repeatedly confounding her critics who predicted she would lose the 400 Free in 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2024.
She’s the greatest after all!! Greater than Ledecky and Summer
Titmus tokyo >>>>>Ledecky Rio
It’s not even “essentially”, it’s literally lol. Summer never beat Titmus in a freestyle event in her career
There is a 7 year or so age difference between the 2 swimmers with Summer holding the current 400 free WR which she obtained at age 18. If you look at the times both swimmers achieved at the same age, that gives an interesting perspective.
Enjoy Bahamas Arnie ❤️
Anyone who thinks that Ariarne Titmus won’t be remembered, she was part of one of the best female rivalries in history, with the best swimmer in history and won three Olympic golds, more than any other swimmer and in two different Olympics.
She won 4 Olympic gold, 3 individual gold and 1 relay gold.
Her Olympic individual medals is more than almost all elite female swimmers ever
She’s afraid of Summer!!
I hate that she’s retired just cos along with Huske, she was the toughest racer out there.
Every time she swam it was a marquee event.
But I’m glad she’s enjoying the fruits of all her labour.
Ariarne has done more than enough representing Australia, winning 3 individual Olympic golds and boosting Australia’s hugely successful Tokyo and Paris Olympic campaigns.
Any whingers about her retirement are not appreciating her enough.
With 3 gold and 3 silver, she is the eighth most successful female swimmer at the Olympics, based on individual medals (gold – silver – bronze ranking)
Only Ledecky, Egerszegi, Janet Evans, Inge De Bruijn, Kaylee McKeown, Yana Klochkova, Kristin Otto are ahead of her. And if we ignore Otto, she’s the 7th most successful female swimmer.
Don’t forget she still holds the unbelievable 200 free WR.
100%. For now she is the only woman in history to win 3 individual Olympic golds in mid distance free. I believe the only man to do it is Thorpe? And they have matching golds: 2 x 400m and 1 x 200m
It was her job. She retired early. In a few years no one will remember her
Does she care about that? Much like Ash Barty she achieved what she wanted in the sport and moved on with her life.
I’d much rather that than see her not fully committed and unhappy but pushing on out of obligation
The Ledecky-Titmus rivalry is one of the unforgettable rivalries of this era.
Her job was to win 3 x individual gold?
Those are some tough KPIs, but she managed it, so… not sure what your point is.
Her job is to become the 8th most successful individual female swimmer ever at the Olympics, win 4 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze at the Olympics, and break world records in 200-400 free?
She did a fantastic job, then.