Olympics 2021: Ariarne Titmus storms to second Tokyo gold medal in 200m free

Ariarne Titmus looked like she was playing a game of cat and mouse in the pool — a game that none of her chasers had a hope of winning.

Ariarne Titmus was simply too good for her rivals in the 200m free. Picture: AFP

Ariarne Titmus is swimming so fast right now that even miracles seem possible.

If she stood up and walked on water, the only ripple of surprise would be if she didn’t start running on top of the surface because everything she does, she does flat out.

While everyone in the world was blown away by her stunning victory over Katie Ledecky in the 400m freestyle final at the Tokyo Olympics, her victory in the 200m was possibly even more mind blowing.

To the naked eye, it looked like she was playing cat and mouse with her opponents before hitting the accelerator button on the last lap and surging clear to win her second gold medal.

“I’m bloody exhausted,” Titmus said. “That was a hell of a tough one.”

It was even tougher for her rivals because Titmus broke their spirits gradually, from the moment she completed the first lap in fifth spot and began her sprint for gold a long way from home.

A focused Ariarne Titmus hits the water in the 200m final. Picture: AFP

Very few swimmers can produce consistent lap times under the intense pressure of racing in an Olympic final, but Titmus calmly reeled off three laps, all at nearly identical breakneck speed; splitting 28.81, 28.85 and 28.80 seconds.

Her relentless pace crushed the will and resistance of everyone else in the race, including Ledecky, who she also beat in the 400m.

Swimming in the lane next to Titmus, the American superstar was one of the first to fold, finishing fifth.

Penny Oleksiak, the Canadian speedster who won the 100m gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, was gone at the 150m mark and did well to hold on for the bronze.

The last to concede was Hong Kong’s tearaway leader Siobhan Haughey, also swimming in a lane adjacent to the Australian.

Ariarne Titmus was simply too good for her rivals in the 200m free. Picture: AFP

Haughey was still in front when the field turned for home but couldn’t sustain her speed on the last lap, settling for silver 0.42 behind Titmus, who has already become a legend of the sport – emulating Ian Thorpe and Shane Gould as the only Australians to win the 200m-400m freestyle double.

Titmus was more emotional after winning the 200m than she was after the 400m. She was wiping away tears when she climbed out of the pool. She was sobbing again after being presented with her gold medal when she was embraced by her coach Dean Boxall.

Titmus with the spoils of her stunning victory. Picture: Adam Head

For the first time, she spoke out about the pressure she has been under to win and how she’s dealt with it – by cutting herself off from the rest of the world.

“I’ve deleted every social media app off my phone. I think as much as messages from everyone is really beautiful to look at but it can sometimes be overwhelming. I’m only speaking to my family a tiny bit not that much either,” she said.

“I just try not to read anything I think that adds external pressure. I got my best friend last night to log onto my social media last night to post for me so I don’t even log on.

“She said mate your notifications are out of control, when I log back on it’s going to be a bit hectic I think.

“I think it is good to be able to be off that when you are racing it is just another thing you don’t have to worry about.”

Titmus has an inkling about what’s in store for her when she returns to Australia. Her life will never be the same but she’s not thinking about that yet because there’s still some unfinished business, including two races.

“It is crazy to think I’m only half way through my program. The two big ones are out of the way, which are the ones I kind of felt more pressure,” she said.

Former Brisbane Broncos strength and conditioning coach Jeremy Hickmans with Denan Kemp.

Hickmans with Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett. Picture: Getty Images

The former Bronco behind Titmus’ golden run

A fitness guru who was booted into touch by the Brisbane Broncos when Wayne Bennett was sacked has emerged as one of the unlikely heroes behind Ariarne Titmus’ golden run at the Tokyo Olympics.

While Titmus has wowed the world with her stunning victories in the 400m and 200m freestyle finals, it’s unfathomable to consider that just a few months ago, her Olympic campaign was in total ruins after she injured her shoulder.

She missed three months of training in the countdown to the biggest competition of life but made up for lost time thanks to the help of Jeremy Hickmans, the famed Queensland fitness trainer who worked alongside Bennett for over a decade, winning NRL premierships with Brisbane and St George Illawarra.

When Hickman was unceremoniously dumped by the Broncos after the supercoach’s messy departure to South Sydney, Boxall reached out to him for help in preparing his squad of swimmers for the Olympics, in particular Titmus.

Titmus’ father Steve said on Monday that a team of people knew they had to be very careful about the management of the shoulder and it taught Ariarne an “enormous’’ amount about her own body and how it operated.

“She was very patient – we never really thought we would miss the Games but around February we were very nervous,’’ Titmus said.

“We did not know how she was going to go at the trials. Once the trials were over we were a lot more relieved.

“Her coach Dean Boxall deserves to celebrate as much as anyone because he has managed every day of this. We are blessed to have him in our lives.’’’

A master of getting NRL players back on the paddock, Hickman was asked to help Titmus rescue her Olympic dream after everything fell apart when she felt a little twinge in her upper shoulder while racing at last year’s Queensland state championships.

She immediately withdrew from her other events and was sent for scans, which revealed she had injured her subscapulaire tendon, the largest of the four rotator cuff muscles.

It is a common injury that swimmers sometimes get, and the only solution is to rest, so Titmus was told to play it safe and take 14 weeks off full training.

That kept Titmus out of full training until the end of March and in a race against time to be ready for the Olympics, but just like she has shown in Tokyo, she made it

Originally published as Olympics 2021: Ariarne Titmus storms to second Tokyo gold medal in 200m free