Tasmanians cheer on Ariarne Titmus as she brings home gold
“I’m just from a small town in Tassie and this goes to show that if you believe you can do something you can 100 per cent do it if you work for it”
Tasmania
Don't miss out on the headlines from Tasmania. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Family’s tears of joy as Titmus wins Olympic gold
- Watkins goes for gold: ‘I’m so proud to represent Tasmania’
ARNIE’S army is growing.
With each stellar performance in the pool, Australian swimming sensation Ariarne Titmus wins more accolades – and more hearts.
The young Tasmanian scored a second stunning gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday, backing up from her 400m freestyle victory on Monday to claim the women’s 200m freestyle and become the state’s first dual Olympic gold medallist.
The 20-year-old also joined the company of swimming legends Shane Gould and Ian Thorpe as the only Australians to claim the 200-400m freestyle double.
Her family, including grandparents, beamed with pride as she hit the wall first.
Students at her former Launceston school cheered her name when she powered to the front of the pack.
Shoppers, office workers and mums and dads across the country watching at home paused to see her race.
Titmus’s family is staying in Noosa during the Olympics, hunkered down with other parents unable to travel with the team to Tokyo due to Covid restrictions.
“We knew she would come home really hard but, wow, that last 25 … what a racer, what guts, what determination,” her father Steve Titmus said.
Her grandmother, Sandra Farrelly travelled from Tasmania to Noosa.
She said she was not concerned about her granddaughter’s performance before Monday’s 400m final but she was on tenterhooks for the 200m.
“I thought ‘it’s a shorter race, can she make up enough time and come home fast’ but she did it and what a fantastic race. We’re so very proud.”
When told by host broadcaster channel Seven that Australia Post had already produced a stamp to mark her achievements, Titmus said she hoped to inspire the next crop of young Tasmanian athletes. “I’m just from a small town in Tassie and this goes to show that if you believe you can do something you can 100 per cent do it if you work for it,” she said.
“I don’t think it will settle in until I get home and have a rest. When you’re in this situation you have to compartmentalise everything and once I stop racing I’ll release everything.
“For now, it’s on to the relay and 800m and I don’t want to ruin the rest of my meeting by celebrating too hard. But I’m very proud of what I’ve achieved.”
Huddled in a lecture theatre-turned makeshift grandstand, students at Titmus’ former school, St Patrick’s College in Launceston, celebrated as she won gold.
School swim captain Jade Nichols, 18, trained alongside the Olympian while she was living in Launceston.
“I always get really nervous watching people I know race,” she said.
“I was sitting in the chair shaking and really nervous, but I knew she had a really strong back end, so I had a belief in her that she would come home nice and strong.”
St Patrick’s College swim team mangers Katrina von Steylitz and Tony Cullen said from a young age, Titmus had an Olympic gold medal in her focus.
“She was humble, gracious, but had a real fight in her to go to the Olympics,” Ms von Steylitz said.
“All those qualities you see in the way she races we saw from an early age, she was exceptional,” Mr Cullen said. “She was a great member of the team. She’d cheer from the stands when she wasn’t swimming.”
Small town in Tassie becoming a bigger name by the day! #Lonniehttps://t.co/NEtZxkUxiJ
— Ricky Ponting AO (@RickyPonting) July 28, 2021
Fellow Launceston sporting hero and former Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting also joined in the celebrations.
“Small town in Tassie becoming a bigger name by the day,” he exclaimed in a social media post.
In Hobart’s Wellington Court, shoppers gathered around a big screen to watch the race.
Dennis and Diane Rogers, from Saltwater River, pictured, were among those cheering and clapping.
“That’s two golds she’s won and she’s only young – she’s brilliant,” Mr Rogers said. “Good on her.”
Sisters Carol Millhouse and Ann Ralph had met in town for lunch and decided to catch Titmus’ race.
“It’s just wonderful that she’s a Tasmanian,” Ms Ralph said. “I’m always interested in the swimming and I love the gymnastics.”
‘Good on her’: Crowds buzzing over second Titmus win
Couples, siblings and total strangers came together in-between shopping trips and hospital visits to watch the nail-biting finish for Ariarne Titmus’s second Olympic gold swim.
People trickled into the mostly deserted Wellington Court from 11.30am, completely packing out the walkways by 11.40am with hopes of catching another historic win for Tasmanian swimmer Titmus on the Optus truck big screen.
Nervous crowds were transfixed as the 200m women’s freestyle final began and the swimmer hovered in the middle of the pack, but in true Titmus fashion, she clawed her way to the front in the final stretch.
Passionate onlookers cheered and clapped as she broke the Olympic record and took home a second gold medal.
Dennis and Diane Rogers have been commuting regularly from their Saltwater River home at the Tasman Peninsula to Hobart for hospital treatment, but the highlight of their day was heading to Wellington Court for an Olympics fix.
“We didn’t want to go shopping, we just wanted to sit down and have a feed,” Mrs Rogers said.
“We sat here for quite a while the other day too – it just depends how cold it gets.”
The pair enjoyed mingling with strangers and watching people in the audience “bounce up and down and wave their arms around”.
“That’s two golds she’s won and she’s only young – she’s brilliant,” Mr Rogers said.
“Good on her.”
Tokyo Olympics 2020 sponsors Optus will stream the action live every day from 8am-6pm at Wellington Court, Hobart.
FROM THE CROWD – WHY TASMANIANS LOVE THE OLYMPICS:
Sisters Carol Millhouse and Ann Ralph had met in town for lunch and decided to catch Titmus’ race.
“It’s just wonderful that she’s a Tasmanian,” Ms Ralph said.
“I’m always interested in the swimming and I love to watch the gymnastics.
Ms Millhouse was happy the Olympics had gone ahead despite Covid-19’s impact.
“It’s lifted people’s spirits,” she said.
“I like the badminton – it’s so fun.”
Anna Dang moved from Vietnam to Australia four years ago, so she was thrilled to watch the Olympics live from Tasmania for the first time.
“It was great, before coming here I didn’t know that the swimming was such a big thing,” she said.
“I do love it a lot. It’s so good at the end when Ariarne comes back.
“All of the events like this bring people together.”
Ms Dang had bonded over the excitement of the race and struck up conversation with another audience member, Lynette Jenssen.
Ms Jenssen missed the race but caught the end to glimpse Titmus bag the gold.
“I was thinking they should show the Olympics somewhere, and I’m glad they have it here,” she said.
“I was here for an appointment and shopping – thank goodness I saw the end of it.”
Ms Jenssen said the Olympics “brought everyone together” and brought “positivity to everybody”.
She said she had hoped to see tennis Grand Slam champ Ash Barty win gold, but all the athletes had done a great job.
“No matter what sport, whether they win or lose, the Australians do well and we’re proud of them,” Ms Jenssen said.
Ariarne Titmus to feature on limited edition Australia Post stamp
Australia’s new golden girl of swimming will be celebrated on a new limited edition stamp for her incredible performance at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Tasmania’s gold medal winning swimmer Ariarne Titmus will become the country’s first individual gold medallist to feature on a new Australia Post stamp series that celebrates every Australian gold medal performance at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Titmus features in the new series for her triumphant win in the Women’s 400m Freestyle event in Tokyo on Monday.
The stamp will be available in participating Australia Post retail outlets from Thursday while stocks last.
The Tasmanian born swimmer joins fellow Olympians Bronte Campbell, Meg Harris, Emma McKeon and Cate Campbell as the fifth Australian athlete to feature on a stamp through the Australian Gold Medallist Stamps program, with the Women’s 4 x 100 metre Relay Team’s stamp available online and in participating stores from Wednesday.
Australia Post will celebrate each Aussie gold medal performance in Tokyo with a limited edition gold medallist stamp that will be produced within 72 hours of the medal ceremony taking place.
Australia Post Executive General Manager Community & Consumer Nicole Sheffield said the gold medallist stamp program recognises the hard work and success of Australian athletes while providing the public with an opportunity to connect with this year’s Olympic Games.
“These Games are unlike any other in history, and we’re proud to be able to recognise our Olympians in this way and help Australians celebrate these remarkable athletes who are representing their country and performing at their peak,” Ms Sheffield said.
More information on the limited edition Olympic stamps can be found at auspost.com.au/olympics
‘This is Ariarne Titmus’ Ash Barty moment’
LONG before her famous gold medal there was a little gold statuette which meant just as much.
This is Ariarne’s Titmus’ Ash Barty moment.
Just as the now iconic photo of a bashful Barty celebrating an early tennis title win is seen as a key moment of her journey so too is this photo of an eight-year-old Titmus after winning a 25m breaststroke race in Launceston for her first swimming title and trophy.
“Breaststroke was her best stroke early,’’ said her mother Robyn of the new Olympic 400m champion.
“When she moved up into a senior squad she had to pick up freestyle because she was right on the end of the squad and had to do freestyle to stay there.’’
Father Steve remembers Ariarne being firmly warned at her first training session as a child for repeatedly putting her head under the water.
“I can still hear the instructor saying “Ariarne, stop that … we haven’t got to the stage yet,’’ Steve said.
Robyn recalls: “Her body grew and she improved. She wasn’t strong as a youngster but she always had a good technique. We had a pool in the backyard and she developed breaststroke without any training.
“I remember looking at her and thing “oh wow, she looks like a fish in water. I remember having both girls in the water under six months old.’’
Titmus through to 200m finals for shot at another gold
Words by Julian Linden and Hayden Johnson
Australia’s Ariarne Titmus and her great American rival Katie Ledecky will go at it again after both qualified for Wednesday’s 200m freestyle final at the Tokyo Olympics.
Titmus is 1-0 up in their four-round head to head battle for the title of the world’s best female swimmer after beating Ledecky in the 400m final.
She will go into the 200m final as the outright favourite after posting the fastest semi final time of 1:54.82 without going full throttle.
Ledecky qualified third fastest after winning her semifinal in 1:55.34 despite also swimming the 1500m heats on Monday night.
She and Titmus will also race each other in the 800m and the 4x200m relay.
Madi Wilson, who won gold in Tokyo in the 4x100m freestyle relay, qualified eighth after replacing Emma mcKeon as Australia’;s second entrant in the event while Italy’s double world champion Federica Pellegrini was seventh.
WATCH: Tasmanians cheer on Titmus in Olympic gold glory
THEY were packed like sardines into the St Patrick’s College gymnasium in Launceston on Monday to watch alumnus Ariarne Titmus go for gold, and the cheers and screams were about as loud as a jumbo jet on take-off.
And while Ariarne’s former teachers and swim coaches could not watch with the masses, quietly taking it in huddled in their office, the St Pat’s student watched her golden moment in the gym, and those who could not fit watched from their classrooms.
Principal Tony Daley said everyone at the school was “walking a bit taller” after Ariarne’s golden moment.
“It’s one of those days in the history of the school that is very important. Being one of our students, and being so successful on the world stage makes us all proud of who and what we are,” Daley said.
“When Ariarne went into the lead on the second-last turn the noise in the gym was deafening. When she won there was a lot of celebration. It was massive. She’s a credit to herself and her family.”
St Pat’s swim teacher Tony Cullen first met Ariarne as a nine-year-old club racer and then as a 12-year-old student at the college.
“She has wanted this for a long time. She wanted to go to the Olympics and she wanted to win a gold medal and to see her do it now is just amazing,” Cullen said.
“She always trained well and fought hard in her races, and she never liked to lose. That was very evident in Tokyo.”
Ariarne’s other St Pat’s swim teacher Katrina von Stieglitz first met Tasmania’s Olympic hero as a grade seven student.
“She would always give her best and she showed that in the pool and as a student. She was academic, humble, and just a lovely kid with a great family,” she said.
Von Stieglitz had no doubt her protégé could strike gold.
“When she turned for the last 100m we knew she would win because she’s got such a strong back end to her 400m and she’s a fighter and we just knew she had it.”
Hobartians cheer on Titmus in Olympic gold glory
Whether enjoying their coffee break or doing their weekly shop, locals in the CBD stopped in their tracks to watch the climactic moment Tasmanian Ariarne Titmus won gold.
Titmus’ rivalry with United States reigning Olympic women’s 400m freestyle champ Katie Ledecky resulted in a special win for Titmus, as people watched the action on the Optus big screen in Wellington Court, Hobart.
Another rivalry was underway between Grace Russell and her New Zealand-born partner Gary Morris.
The couple ducked out from work on their lunch break to enjoy the swimming final, with Ms Russell cheering on Titmus and Mr Morris supporting 17-year-old Kiwi Erika Fairweather.
Ms Russell said one of them would buy the other dinner as a wager on the race.
Fairweather came eighth in the final, but Mr Morris said he would examine the schedule for the rest of the week to catch more events featuring Kiwi athletes.
“It’s a little tricky with the timing of the finals being during work hours,” Mr Morris said.
“I think this is such a cool set-up. It’s a great idea.”
Optus general manager Peter West said the screen on the side of an Optus truck had been set up with help from the Hobart City Council to livestream the Olympics 8am-6pm daily.
“It’s always been about enabling people who are in the city area to stop and take a break and get a bit of an Olympics fix,” he said.
“The shops in the area are appreciative as well.”
Statewide total fire ban with wild winds set to sweep through
Tired firefighters are bracing for more dangerous fire conditions after a total bushfire ban has been announced for Tasmania.
Tassie’s oldest living WWII veteran remains big believer in fate
At 104-years-old Brian Winspear will once again don his Airforce uniform to pay respects to the 2/40th Infantry Batallion on the 80th anniversary of their capture.