Ariarne Titmus: Daily Routine

Ariarne Titmus starts her day at 5:49am with black coffee and Vegemite toast before diving into double swim sessions and gym work.

In 2021, Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus made headlines around the globe when she beat seven-time Olympic gold medallist Katie Ledecky in the women’s 400 metre freestyle event at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Titmus edged the legendary US swimmer by just half a second to capture the gold medal and become the first person to defeat Ledecky in an individual event at the Olympics.

She went on to win another gold medal in the 200-metre freestyle event, where she also posted a new Olympic record of 1:53.50. The Australian swimmer capped off her first Olympics with a silver medal in the 800-metre freestyle final as well as a bronze for the 4 x 200 metre women’s freestyle relay. Quite the achievement for a 20-year old.

Born and raised in Launceston, Tasmania, Titmus fell in love with swimming early on. “I still remember her first swimming lesson,” her dad Steve recalled in an interview with The Australian Women’s Weekly. “Ariarne kept putting her head under the water. The instructor got really annoyed, and kept saying, ‘Ariarne, stop putting your head under the water, we’ll get to that shortly.’”