Australian freestyle ace Ariarne Titmus left Paris with 4 Olympic medals, cementing the 23-year-old among the all-time greats.
Titmus topped the women’s 400m freestyle podium on night 1, then followed up with silver in the 200m free, silver in the 800m free and gold as a member of Australia’s women’s 4x200m free relay.
All told on her career, the Dean Boxall-trained star has amassed 8 Olympic medals and has no plans of stopping, although she may take a break to recharge her batteries after such a packed program in Paris.
“I’m definitely having a very extended break. I haven’t planned when I’m going back to swimming. I want to go back when I feel ready to go back. Could be up to 12 months,” she told news agency reporters.
“I just want to make sure I’m ready to go in LA. I don’t want to come back too early and, you know, lose that fire, I guess,” she said.
After becoming a two-time Olympic champion in 2021, Titmus took a well-earned break from swimming, not touching a pool for three months after the Games. This break was more of a mental reset than a physical necessity, allowing her to focus on hobbies and activities outside of the pool.
“I think four years is a long time, so I want to prepare myself the best for those Olympic Games. For me, that’s the priority, not world championships in the years prior.
“So I just want to really have time to let the hunger build back up and enjoy myself for a little while,” she said. (Paris 2024)
American competitor Katie Ledecky, who beat Titmus in the 800m free, is aiming for LA 2028 as is 17-year-old Summer McIntosh of Canada. McIntosh earned 400m free silver behind Titmus and won gold in the 200m fly, 200m IM and 400m IM in which Titmus does not currently compete.
“I think that at the moment, it’s probably, since I can remember, the best it’s ever been in terms of how fast we’re swimming, the depth we have across the world, the depth in Australia,” Titmus said of her primary rivals.
“So I feel very privileged and have a sense of pride to contribute to that at the moment. I think people are going to look back on this era of swimming and say that it was one of the best.” (Paris 2024)
I’m pleasantly surprised she’s going to continue! Even though she’s still young, I wondered if she might retire after Paris, because she’s done it all at this point, so IDK where the hunger comes from in that situation. Hopefully after her break she can enjoy the LA Olympic cycle as a new phase of her career and act as a bit of a leader/mentor to the younger swimmers. Looking forward to continuing to watch her in the pool!
She times these breaks right. Doing it mid-cycle you can’t come back on form for the next games.
Yep. Especially now with a four full-year cycle.
She will be too old in L.A to beat summer, summer is now entering her prime
You said she wouldn’t beat Summer in Fukuoka, and then you said she wouldn’t beat Summer in Paris, and look where we are.
Yes, I expect winning in LA will be a massive challenge. No one has ever threepeated a middle distance freestyle event before. But maybe 2 days after swimming in Paris has finished is a bit early to guarantee who will win in 4 years
Yep. Thats not a new thing. Boxall supposedly is to. Wonder if Griffith gets a boost from Marshall going there.
Given they lost Bohl I doubt she will make a difference.
It is unquestionably the correct decision. The risk is that McIntosh gets physically stronger and passes Titmus level in the 400, then never looks back.
Titmus toward 2028 might be best served to focus on beating 31 year old Ledecky at 800, than 21/22 year old McIntosh at 400
She will regardless
Maybe. The 400 free is clearly the event where summer has the most work to do.
She doesn’t have the easy speed in the the mid distance like Titmus.
Summer will know that she is the marked woman for the next 4 years, it is the ultimate test of greatness, backing it up all over again when you are expected to win.
At this point, does it really matter? Titmus is already among the all-time greats, anything else is just icing on the cake.
Many have written her off many times, and she has proven them wrong time and time again. McIntosh can do anything from now on, and it will not affect Titmus’s legacy.
Everyone talks about these 3 swimmers like 4 years isn’t enough for some current 14yo unknown to beat them all as an 18 year old at the next Olympics. Literally nothing is guaranteed & Arnie is smart to take time to make sure she’s in the best head space possible, because anything could happen in 2028.
Good for her. athletes need to do this. I think if Dressel had taken a longer break after Tokyo things may have been different in 2022.
But also this makes you appreciate MP. Bowman has said that between 2000 and 2008 Phelps missed less than 5 practices. They swam on Sunday, on Christmas, New Years, everything. After Sydney and Athens they were bck in the water the next day. That’s why there will never be another MP. His motivation and dedication wasn’t human. He was a freak.
And I’m not saying anyone else should do that. Just an observation that clearly separated the GOAT
But I think it affected him mentally.
I definitely remember reading about how he swam 7 days a week. Are you sure they were back in the water the day after Sydney and Athens though? That just seems unnecessary.
It also makes you wonder if he would’ve had more motivation between Beijing and London if he took more breaks prior to Beijing. Granted, maybe the reason he was so great was this otherworldly dedication.
I read Bowman has told Marchand not to spend too much time in France and to get back to Austin quickly, which is a little concerning. The kid deserves some time off!
Yes let’s go Arnie! 2028!
I wish someone like Missy Franklin did this. It seemed like whenever she was injured or going through a hard time she just kept going instead of taking a necessary break. The sport can be unforgiving.
I don’t particularly remember what she did, but it was a fairly degenerative shoulder issue, no? (Maybe a back thing in there too?)
Probably couldn’t have hurt to build in breaks, but also may have just delayed the inevitable
The first significant injury I heard about for Missy Franklin was her back, around 10 years ago. It seemed like that back injury never really got better. In more recent interviews, she has said she can’t really swim anymore because of multiple shoulder injuries.
She had a back spasm issue in 2014, and by 2016 both her shoulders were completely shot. Even today she doesn’t lap swim because of them.