From Olympic champion to being named Tasmanian Young Australian of the Year, Ariarne Titmus has had an extraordinary year. But when she returns home to Tassie, she takes time to relax, reconnect with familiar places, and enjoy Tasmania’s long summer days.

Where did you grow up and where do you live now? I grew up in Launceston on a little bit of acreage at Riverside overlooking the Tamar River. Now I live in Brisbane.

How did your Tasmanian childhood shape who you are today? I think growing up in a small town helps you stay grounded as you grow into your adult life. It reminds you of what the real world is actually like. Being in a big city since leaving Tassie, and the lifestyle and the limelight that I’ve been thrust into, can sometimes take you away from reality a little bit. But growing up in a town where you know everyone, it reminds you of who you are and where you come from.

Going into the 2024 Olympics, did you feel a heightened sense of pressure following your debut success in Tokyo? How did you manage those expectations? Yeah, I definitely did feel pressure. Coming into Paris, I knew there were a lot more eyes on me. It was different. It was ‘I can’t wait to watch her win’ rather than ‘I can’t wait to watch the race’. That did get caught in my mind a little bit, but I think it’s about managing the expectations you put on yourself. I tried not to let any external noise get to me. Isolating yourself from the media and not listening to the public is really important, and just listening to yourself. But I did worry, probably for the first time in my career, about what would happen if I were to lose. That’s a heavy burden to carry. I felt such a sense of relief to get the job done on day one. It was the most relieving moment of my life! The thing was, I knew I could win. I knew that I was the person to beat. I truly believed in myself, but it was just about actually doing it on the day, and the build up to that was immense.

Your rivalry with Katie Ledecky has been thrilling to watch. How does that competition drive you and what have you learned from racing alongside her? I feel so honoured to be a part of Katie’s story. She will go down as arguably the greatest female swimmer of all time. Once our rivalry really started to kick off, I think we pushed middle distance freestyle swimming forward for women. Other girls started to race the way that we both did, and started to have a fearless mentality. Me beating her opened other women’s mindsets to be like, “You know what? These women are beatable.” That’s pushed the sport forward. I feel really proud that I’ve played a role in that because you want to leave a legacy behind when all is done. I have the most unbelievable respect for Katie because I know how hard it has been for me to get to this level and maintain it. I’ve loved racing her. You get such satisfaction from racing a champion rather than racing a field that’s not as competitive. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

How do you celebrate your victories? Honestly, it’s pretty subdued. The little things in my life keep me happy. After the Olympics, I was just so excited to spend time with my family and friends who I don’t get to really celebrate with often. I’ve enjoyed having a glass of wine here and there! I went out for dinner recently in Melbourne and we had a beautiful bottle of Stefano Lubiana wine. It’s nice just to go out to dinner and actually enjoy myself and not have to be on a time limit to get home to bed, to not be on the waters and not having dessert. I’m celebrating by living in the moment without any limits.

What’s one thing about the Olympics or being an Olympian that you wish more people knew? The sense of pride that you feel is incredible – to represent your country on the highest stage is a feeling like no other and something that only a few people get to feel. But it’s the little moments of the Olympics that you really remember, like standing on the podium and singing the national anthem. That will always be in my heart and something you dream of your entire life. You spend so much time with your teammates and your roomies and they’re the moments that people don’t realise. You’re in such confined living spaces and you spend so much time with each other that you become very close as friends. You’re not living in the greatest of environments so you just get around it and make it as great as you can. In the Olympics, my roommates started this thing whenever someone in my room would win a medal, we’d write signs on the door like, “Olympic gold medalist in the 400m freestyle lives here.” And then we started adding on the door as the week went on. We ended up having signs all over the door. In our room we would’ve had about eight medals!

If you weren’t an elite swimmer, what would you be doing? I actually don’t know. When I was little, I loved doing hair, and always said I wanted to be a hairdresser. I went to uni for one semester and did sports science, but I didn’t go on with it.

When you think back to your childhood, what activities or places in Tassie are burned into your memory? My grandparents used to take me through City Park in Launceston to see the monkeys. Last time I was back in Launnie, I went and saw the monkeys. My grandparents lived at Shearwater so I’d spend a bit of time there, and at Hawley Beach. We used to spend New Year’s down at Scamander with a whole bunch of our family and friends when we were little. I remember the windy road drives. Little things, like where we used to live, Mum used to make massive bonfires and we’d do bonfires at home with friends.

What’s the first thing you do when you touch down here? When I get off the plane, when the air hits your face, it’s the best feeling in the world. People probably think I’m insane, but it’s different. You just get this freshness on your cheeks, which is a really calming feeling. It is almost like you’re stepping into an old friend’s home.

Describe your ideal 24 hours in Tasmania in summer, what would it look like? I would go down the East Coast to Coles Bay, Freycinet or Bay of Fires. I’d wake up, go for a beach walk, go to a cute little place for lunch, just chill, go out on the water. I love fishing. I find it so relaxing. So have a bit of a fish and just revel in the scenery. There’s a lot of places I hadn’t been to when I was growing up because I left when I was 14. But since coming back as an adult and exploring more, it’s so beautiful.

What are some of your favourite memories of Launceston? When I think about Launceston I think about Cataract Gorge. When I was little we used to go there with school and do science projects. I’d actually never done the chairlift until recently and it was unreal, and I had no idea it was the longest single span chairlift in the world! Bucket list stuff for me, one of the things that’s iconic to Launceston.

Is there anything in Tasmania you haven’t had the chance to explore yet, but are eager to this summer? Honestly, I just want to get down to the East Coast and enjoy all the seafood. I’m a massive seafood fan and you get way better range down in Tassie. The crayfish is like nothing else. I haven’t spent much time down south and have never done Port Arthur. Eventually I’d love to get around and see all of the state.

What have you been up to since the Olympics? I’ve been having a break from swimming, but I wouldn’t say I’ve been resting. I’ve been jet-setting and working as much as I can. That was my plan, to really make the most of this post-Olympics time. I work with great people and I love sharing my story, so I’ve been speaking at a lot of functions and events. I’m enjoying not having that pressure every day to perform. It’s nice just to have a bit of freedom in your mind and not have to worry about the next day.

What’s next for you? I’m actually very excited to have my first Christmas and New Year that I haven’t had to train over that period of time in over 10 years. So I’m going to really enjoy that with my family. Moving into next year, I think I’ll start to dip my toe back in the water. I’ll keep my calendar a bit clearer so I can really enjoy the last six months of my time away from swimming before I get back in and have to kick it up for LA.

Created in partnership with Tourism Tasmania

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