‘Holy s***’: Ariarne Titmus text message changes history

Ariarne Titmus has for the first time divulged a private text message she was sent hours before she made history.

Ariarne Titmus has divulged a private text message she was sent hours before she made Olympics history at the Tokyo Games.

The Aussie champion has opened up like never before on how she took down American legend Katie Ledecky in an iconic moment of Australian sport in 2021.

The Tasmanian swimmer famously toppled Ledecky in the 400m freestyle and was brought to tears when meeting her coach Dean Boxall after the event.

Boxall briefly stole the show with his celebration antics that went viral. Titmus has now revealed a new side of her relationship with Boxall — and the role he played in pushing her to greatness.

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Titmus told Channel 9’s ‘Boiling Point: Swimming’s Greatest Rivalry’ special that Boxall sent her a text message on the morning of the great race — and it hit home more than any pre-race pep-talk could have.

“Dean sent me a text that morning saying: “Today is the day. Be that little girl. And race eight laps’. And I think that was like the best thing he could have ever said to me,” she said.

Ariarne Titmus and Dean Boxall. Photo: Channel 7 and Tom Pennington/Getty Images.

“I just forgot about everything. And what the Olympics was and where I was. Then I thought, all I have to do is race eight laps and I’m the most prepared person in the world to do that.”

Titmus has also revealed fascinating new details of the strategy used to take the gold medal.

Titmus’ win was the first time Ledecky had ever lost an Olympics final in an individual event.

The American champion holds seven gold medals. She would have eight — if not for Titmus.

During the race, Titmus famously fell a full body length behind her rival before powering back over the final 100m to win by just 0.6 seconds.

Titmus appeared to swim the perfect race to storm home, but she says in the feature doco not everything went according to plan.

“I didn’t want to let her slip far enough to think that I couldn’t get back to her,” Titmus said about the first 200m of the race.

“Katie’s trying to make a move here. Which she does. She gets a body length on me in the first half of the race.

“I probably let her go a little bit too much to be honest. Looking back at the race I was like, ‘Oh my god’.”

She pays special attention to the turn she performed at the 300m mark.

Ledecky turned just ahead of Titmus. Photo: Channel 9.

“I’ll never ever, ever forget this turn because you can see we turn into each other,” she said.

“I saw her clear as day and was like, ‘Holy s***’.”

In the end, the emotion of it all was too much for her when she first got to embrace Boxall after the race.

“I remember Dean crying, which is rare,” she said.

“So when Dean cries, that makes me cry. I remember telling myself hold it in because if you let it all out you’re going to ruin your (200m freestyle) heats night.”

Titmus’ rivalry with Ledecky will be resumed in the Paris pool with the 2024 Olympics beginning on July 26.

Mystery surrounds who should be considered the gold medal favourite in the blue ribbon event this year with Canadian sensation Summer McIntosh swimming the fastest time in 2024 during the Canadian trials.

Meanwhile, Titmus broke the world record to beat Ledecky by more than two seconds at the 2023 Aquatics World Championships.

Titmus emerged from the Tokyo Games as a genuine superstar of Aussie sport, walking away with four medals, including gold medals in the 200m and 400m freestyle.

Ariarne Titmus hugs her coach Dean Boxall after the medal ceremony at the Tokyo Aquatic Centre at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Pics Adam Head

It has put an enormous amount of pressure on her shoulders — something she has admitted she has struggles with recently.

“My Olympics last time was such a blur to me … it was probably the most gruelling and exhausting week of my life,” Titmus told the En Route to Paris podcast in April.

“I was probably most proud of my performance in the 800m to be honest.

“When that race was over, it was like you’re in a pressure cooker and you release the valve. I collapsed, my mind and body relaxed for the first time in nine days.

“I just collapsed. It was the most unreal feeling it was over and done.

“You look forward to an Olympic Games your entire life and you train your whole life for it and then when you’re in it, you just want it to be over.

“I think that is the most bizarre feeling, but the sense of relief I was done was unreal and just overcame me.”

She will do it all again in less than 50 days in Paris.

Originally published as ‘Holy s***’: Ariarne Titmus text message changes history