Australian swimming trials 2023: Ariarne Titmus hints at retirement after Paris Olympics
Australian swimming superstar Ariarne Titmus has dropped a stunning retirement bombshell on the opening night of national trials, revealing she is thinking about quitting the sport.
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Australian swimming superstar Ariarne Titmus dropped a bombshell on the opening night of the national trials on Tuesday when she revealed she was thinking about quitting the sport after next year’s Paris Olympics.
Just 22, the “Terminator” said she still hopes and expects to stay in the sport beyond Paris but the thought of retiring had entered her mind.
“With the intensity of my training and the intensity of having to perform on the world stage, I can’t think about anything else than the next 12 months,” she said.
“I plan to continue swimming, but I can’t think beyond (Paris). It’s too overwhelming. I can’t possibly think, ’Ohh my God, another Olympic cycle already.”
If Titmus did quit the sport, it would be a massive shock because she’s a once-in-a-generation talent with a prize fighter’s mentality.
She became the darling of Australian swimming after winning the 200m and 400m freestyle gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics – famously bearing American GOAT Katie Ledecky – and said she had even discussed the idea of an early retirement with her coach Dean Boxall before this week’s Australian trials.
She showed no sign of wanting to stop soon as she booked her place in the Australian team for next month’s world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, – posting a time of 3:58.47.
But she later admitted that she was disappointed with the time because she wanted to go quicker in case it did turn out to be one of her last attempts at the gruelling distance.
“When you’re going into a meet like this, you always want to take an opportunity to swim as fast as you can and Dean and I had the conversation,” she said.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do after Paris. I plan to continue, but you never know. And this could be like my fourth last 400m, including Paris and trials and worlds.
“If I decide to end, it could be my fourth last, kind of rested 400m so you kind of got to use these opportunities to swim as fast as you can.”
Pressed on whether she was serious about hanging up her goggles, Titmus said it was not her intention but things could change depending on how she performs in Paris.
“It’s certainly not a love thing or a body thing. I think if I went to Paris and won again, certainly (there might be) a motivational factor.
“It becomes harder to keep training at the same level when you have essentially achieved everything and then wanted to achieve.
“At the moment, I’m trying to forget about what I’ve achieved in my swimming career. I’m just trying to be that young kid that I was when I first started swimming, to draw motivation from ‘I love swimming and that’s why I swim’ and everything else that’s happened is a bonus.”
GAME ON: MCKEOWN’S WARNING FOR RIVAL AFTER NEARLY SNAPPING AUSSIE RECORD
Kaylee McKeown came agonisingly close to breaking one of the oldest records in Australian swimming to send an ominous warning to the sport’s newest superstar that it’s game on at next month’s world championships.
Better known as a backstroker, McKeown secured her place on the Dolphins team with a runaway win in the women’s 200 metres individual medley in a time of two minutes 07.60 seconds.
Rising teenage star Jenna Forrester also qualified, finishing second in 2:09.29.
Already ranked second in the world this year, McKeown finished just a heartbeat outside the longstanding Australian record of 2:07.03, set by Beijing Olympic champion Stephanie Rice in 2009.
But there were some mitigating circumstances as she revealed that she hadn’t even rested for the trials.
“I’m really happy with my results considering I haven’t had a full rest and taper,” she said.
“If you look how I’ve raced through the year so far, I haven’t had any taper for any of them. It’s just kind of been like a drop rest, like two days, so it’s playing around a little bit.
“The Americans aren’t slowing down so why stop my prep to not make progress.
“It’s just a bit of a tit for tat. It’s trying to figure out if a taper actually works for me or not. So just playing around and whatever happens, happens.”
McKeown is still ranked No. 2 in the world in the medley, behind only teenage whiz kid Summer McIntosh, who stopped the clock at 2:06.89 at the Canadian trials in late March.
And the Australian still has the 100m and 200m backstroke to come so her coach Michael Bohl is optimistic about her prospects at the world titles in Fukuoka, Japan.
“I think her number one races are the backstrokes, the 100m and 200m backstroke, but not necessarily in that order,” he said.
“And also the 200m medley is an event we’ve been playing around with for the last 12 months. She’s getting better, she’s getting a bit more confidence with it.”
ARNIE READY TO FIRE FIRST SHOT IN ‘RACE OF THE CENTURY’
Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus will get her turn to lay down a marker for next month’s “race of the century” on a blockbuster opening night of finals at the Australian swimming trials.
Titmus’s mouth-watering showdown against American swim GOAT Katie Ledecky and rising Canadian teenage superstar Summer McIntosh in the 400m freestyle is already looming as the most anticipated race at next month’s world championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
Titmus is the Olympic champion but Ledecky has replaced her as world champion while McIntosh broke her world record, so the Australian is desperate to send a message to her rivals with a strong performance at the Australian trials.
“I’m sure if I did sit down with her and talk to her about it, I would find out she’s pretty motivated,” Australia’s head coach Rohan Taylor said.
“Her commitment is significant, so she doesn’t look any different to me.”
The men’s 400m is also shaping as a classic with world champion Elijah Winnington, former Olympic champion Mack Horton and current world No.1 Sam Short vying for the two sports in the Australian team.
Backstroke champion Kaylee McKeown – who faces her own battle with McIntosh in Fukuoka – is the strong favourite to win the women’s 200m individual medley, while Olympic queen Emma McKeon is the one to beat in the women’s 100m butterfly.
Tuesday’s finals at the Australian swimming trials (AEST)
7pm – Women’s 200m individual medley
7.10pm – Men’s 100m breaststroke
7.33pm – Women’s 100m butterfly
7.50pm – Men’s 400m freestyle
9.01pm – Women’s 400m freestyle
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