Four-time Olympic gold medallist Ariarne Titmus has opened up about the heartwarming reason she quit the pool in a stunning move that stunned the sporting world, revealing she did it for love.
The 25-year-old dropped her career bombshell almost a month ago with the vague explanation that ‘some things in my life that have always been important to me are just a little bit more important to me now than swimming’.
Now she has clarified exactly what those things are: her new love Mac Powell, and her family.
‘In my personal life – and this was really the crux of the decision – you have to be quite a selfish person to be an athlete,’ Titmus told News Corp.
‘I’ve lived my life not caring that I never got to spend birthdays with friends or never being able to go to family events … but I wasn’t willing to go back to the life where I made the decision to put my family second.
‘I also met my partner right after the [Paris] Olympics. I wasn’t willing to put that on the backburner.
Ariarne Titmus (pictured) had only offered a vague explanation about exactly why she chose to quit swimming aged just 25 – until now
The Olympics pool queen met her new man Mac Powell (pictured together) soon after the Paris Games – and their relationship has changed her life
The Tasmanian pool queen (pictured after winning gold in the 400m freestyle at the Paris Olympics) will go down in history as one of the greatest distance swimmers ever
‘If I hadn’t been Olympic champion or world record holder, this wouldn’t be the decision I’m making.
‘But because I can look at myself and know I’ve absolutely done everything you can in the sport, and winning more medals wasn’t going to change the way I feel, it felt like the right time to step away.’
Titmus and Powell, a Melbourne-based investment analyst, made their romance official at the Australian Open tennis in January.
Earlier this month she revealed she has moved to the Victorian capital to be with her man.
‘It just happened this week, new beginnings, a fresh start, a new chapter,’ she said.
‘Mac and I are living together. It was hard to leave Queensland, but I do have family in Melbourne and a lot of friends here who have moved from Tasmania.’
Titmus has found work in television and is set to star in Channel Nine’s upcoming reality series SHARK!.
‘I’m enjoying life and I really love working in the TV space… and hope to do that more,’ she said.
Titmus and Powell (pictured together at Melbourne’s spring carnival racing this month) have moved in together in Melbourne
The Tasmanian great also said she quit competitive swimming because she was no longer prepared to put her family on the backburner
‘I (also) feel very lucky to have someone who supports me and makes me smile every day.’
At the Paris Olympics last year, Titmus achieved a historic third individual Olympic gold medal, winning the 400m freestyle in an event dubbed ‘the race of the century’.
She defeated the other two previous world record holders of this event – American all-time great Katie Ledecky and Canadian prodigy Summer McIntosh.
In doing so, Titmus became the first Australian athlete since Dawn Fraser in 1964 to win back-to-back gold medals in the same event.
Before the Paris Games, Titmus underwent surgery to remove an ovarian tumour.
‘I always intended to return, I never thought that Paris would be my last Olympic Games, and knowing now what I know, I wish I had’ve maybe enjoyed that last race a little bit more,’ she said in the Instagram post announcing her shock departure from the pool.
‘But I guess having this 12 months away, I had a chance to explore what life is like without swimming, and that was always my intention.
‘A turning point for me, or a time when a switch was flicked, in the lead-up to the Paris Games I went through some health challenges which, quite frankly, rocked me mentally.
‘It probably was the first time where I considered some things outside of swimming.
‘My whole swimming career I’ve been all or nothing, and that’s how I’ve had to be to become the athlete that I am. I’ve just been in this ruthless pursuit for my goals.
‘Delving more into those health challenges, I’ve really had to look within and think about what’s most important to me.
Her retirement announcement drew tributes from some of the biggest names in Aussie swimming.
‘I’m so proud of you. You are a legend in and out of the pool. You’ve inspired me so much over the years and I am honoured to call you my friend,’ Kyle Chalmers wrote.
Mollie O’Callaghan, Susie O’Neill, Bronte Campbell and Kaylee McKeown also posted their best wishes.
