In early June, Ariarne Titmus boldly decided not to partake in the Swimming World Championships held in Melbourne, Australia. Her reason? “I just really wanted to think about the long term,” she said. “And I really don’t care — it doesn’t bother me that I’m not going to be in the headlines or the media or the spotlight when the world championships are on. That’s not why I swim. I swim because I love it and I want to perform on the biggest stage, which for me is the Olympic Games,” Titmus said confidently.
Her coach, Dean Boxall, fully supports her decision. He firmly believes that, “[Titmus] has a plan. She knows what she needs to do. She knows it’s all about the Olympics.”
The young swimming prodigy’s journey all started in the comfort of her home, Tasmania, when she was watching TV. Her interest in watching Australian swimmers inspired her to swim at her backyard pools, join a swim club, and compete. Unfortunately, as she grew better, her community lacked the facilities necessary to push her to her full potential.
Thus, she made a difficult decision to move to Launceston after qualifying for the Australia junior world championships team. She thought that option would help her “make something of [herself].” Sure enough, her swimming times began to decrease with practice, helping her catch up to her most significant rival today, American swimmer Katie Ledecky.
Unlike Titmus, Ledecky will be participating in the Australia world championships, collecting up the medals, while Titmus will be fast asleep on the other side of the world.
Ledecky has acquired much fame from being a 15-time world champion and is a well-known three-time champion for the 400-meter freestyle. However, over the years, Titmus has steadily closed the gap. She rose to popularity the past summer upon seizing gold medals from Ledecky in the 200 and 400 freestyle events at the Tokyo Olympics.
Supporters will miss Titmus’ presence at this summer’s World Championships, but they have high hopes that she will be taking back world titles in years to come.
Article: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1655669386983x978043245684276900/Why%20Is%20Ariarne%20Titmus%20Not%20Swimming%20at%20the%20Worlds_%20-%20The%20New%20York%20Times.pdf
Her coach, Dean Boxall, fully supports her decision. He firmly believes that, “[Titmus] has a plan. She knows what she needs to do. She knows it’s all about the Olympics.”
The young swimming prodigy’s journey all started in the comfort of her home, Tasmania, when she was watching TV. Her interest in watching Australian swimmers inspired her to swim at her backyard pools, join a swim club, and compete. Unfortunately, as she grew better, her community lacked the facilities necessary to push her to her full potential.
Thus, she made a difficult decision to move to Launceston after qualifying for the Australia junior world championships team. She thought that option would help her “make something of [herself].” Sure enough, her swimming times began to decrease with practice, helping her catch up to her most significant rival today, American swimmer Katie Ledecky.
Unlike Titmus, Ledecky will be participating in the Australia world championships, collecting up the medals, while Titmus will be fast asleep on the other side of the world.
Ledecky has acquired much fame from being a 15-time world champion and is a well-known three-time champion for the 400-meter freestyle. However, over the years, Titmus has steadily closed the gap. She rose to popularity the past summer upon seizing gold medals from Ledecky in the 200 and 400 freestyle events at the Tokyo Olympics.
Supporters will miss Titmus’ presence at this summer’s World Championships, but they have high hopes that she will be taking back world titles in years to come.
Article: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1655669386983x978043245684276900/Why%20Is%20Ariarne%20Titmus%20Not%20Swimming%20at%20the%20Worlds_%20-%20The%20New%20York%20Times.pdf
