Swimmer laps up life in her new state, but move wasn’t easy

RISING swim star Ariarne Titmus has spoken out about the pressure she felt under to succeed when she moved to Brisbane, saying her family made the ultimate sacrifice to move states for her swimming.

RISING swim star Ariarne Titmus has opened up about the difficulty of the move to Queensland that ultimately led to her Commonwealth Games selection.

The 17-year-old is set to be one of the stars of the Commonwealth Games pool next week after becoming the first woman in a decade to win the distance treble at the national titles.

And while she is now thriving under coach Dean Boxall in Brisbane, the Tasmanian swimmer has opened up about how difficult she found the move to the Sunshine State

“It was really tough,” Titmus said. “I wasn’t very happy for the first six months I was living here and my swimming was the only thing that was keeping me grounded.”

Titmus followed her coach Peter Gartrell when he left Launceston to return to Brisbane, joined by her mother Robyn and younger sister Mia. Her father Steve followed six months later, with the distance ‘really tough on them’.

Ariarne Titmus won the 200m, 400m, 800m freestyle at the trials for the Commonwealth Games. Picture: AAP

Her parents left their jobs and sold a 16 acre property on the Tamar River to make the move.

“I’m lucky to have parents that would do anything for me,” Titmus said.

“A lot of other parents wouldn’t pack up their whole lives and leave their jobs to move to Brisbane.

“But they wanted to do whatever they could to help me achieve my dreams.”

Former Tasmanian Ariarne Titmus has been making plenty of waves. Picture: AAP

A decision by Nudgee College to revamp their swimming program left Gartrell out of a job and while Titmus initially trained solo with the man that helped instil her famous work ethic, all decided a squad environment would be best for her development.

Gartrell helped facilitate her move to St Peters Western, where Titmus has linked with Dean Boxall to become one of the rising stars of world distance swimming.

Ariarne Titmus is grateful that her family chose to head to Queensland so she could pursue her dream. Picture: Adam Head

And as she stands on the cusp of a Games debut she never saw coming, her family is grateful they made that leap of faith almost three years ago.

“The things in life you regret are not the things that you did but the things you didn’t do,” Steve said.

“We knew we had to move and we just wanted to give our children the best possible opportunity to achieve their dreams.

“We had that distance for six months, which was tough for us as a family. But thank goodness we actually did make the move because ... it would be awful to still be in Tasmania and thinking, ‘if only we’d moved’.

“It was one of those things we literally had to do to allow Ariarne to reach the level she has so far with her swimming.”

Robyn, a former national level sprinter, and Steve, a former cricketer, are well versed in the world of sport and fiercely competitive in their own right.

But they were determined not to put pressure on their daughter.

Their move to Queensland was couched in their own desire to one day live on the mainland and they were determined not to lump pressure on their daughter.

“We’re not pushy parents at all. We never put pressure on Ariarne or her sister to perform at all.

Ariarne Titmus is ready to fly the flag for Australia at the Commonwealth Games. Picture: Adam Head

“We’ve never got her out of bed for training, she’s always been self-sufficient,” Robyn said.

“She’s been the one that’s been managing us with what she has to do.

“When you’ve got somebody that is so keen and you know they love it so much and it comes to having to make this big decision ... when you weigh it all up, there was really no other option but to do it.

“We just embraced that decision and made it happen and we’re thankful that we have.”

And Titmus is eternally thankful.

Ariarne Titmus at her first swimming lesson with her father Steve in Tasmania.

“I’m very lucky that I have parents that would do that for me,” she said.

“If I was still in Tassie now, there’d be no way that I’d be on the Australian team and I’m forever grateful.

“I’m so excited.’’

Rising swimming star Ariarne Titmus is focused for the big stage on the Gold Coast. Picture: Adam Head

Originally published as Swimmer laps up life in her new state, but move wasn’t easy