Golden girl GIANT SLAYER WINS IN STYLE
IT was her heart that won Ariarne Titmus the most precious prize in world sport - and a permanent place in the heart of all Australians.
When the moment of truth arrived and every muscle in her body was aching and her lungs were burning so much that she just wanted to scream, the Terminator’s ticker got her to the wall first.
A whole nation, desperate for something to feel good about in the middle of Covid-19 chaos, was willing her to win. And she answered the call.
“I feel nice that I can put on a bit of a show for them and bring some joy to their loungerooms,” she said after winning the 400m freestyle gold.
“I feel like people back home will enjoy this moment, so I’m really happy I brought some joy to the country during a tough time.”
All the lessons and advice that her coaches and friends and family have drilled into her since she was a child dreaming of winning an Olympic gold medal didn’t mean a thing once she found herself in a dogfight with the great Katie Ledecky.
The American never loses close races because she’s got the killer instinct, and everyone she races against just chucks in the towel the moment she puts the pressure on. But Titmus just isn’t like other swimmers.
“To beat a great champion, that makes it even more satisfying,” Titmus said. “She has done unbelievable things for this sport, especially middle distance swimming, and I’m very grateful to have her to race.”
The Tasmanian will tell you herself that she is not the most naturally talented swimmer in the world, so everything she has achieved has come from old-fashioned hard work and the sheer will to win.
In Australia, we call that guts, and Titmus needed all of hers because winning gold medals at the Olympics is the ultimate test of mind, body and character. Trailing by a body length at the halfway mark, Titmus had halved the gap by the 300m mark and got her
nose in front when they turned for the final lap, but that was when the real race was starting.
Like the fifth set of a grand slam tennis final, or the back nine for the Masters at Augusta National, or when the Melbourne Cup field runs into the Flemington straight for the last time, it’s always the finish where legends are made. And that’s when the whole of Australia just cheered for Titmus that little bit louder.
“I was just a little girl who started swimming who had a big dream,” she said on Monday. “I tried to think about that this morning when I woke up. I just have to go out there and swim, and that is why I’m here.
“I do feel pressure, but I feel like I do a good job of eating it all up.”
Titmus’s mum Robyn, who watched the race in Australia surrounded by family and friends, summed up the sentiment.
“God, she can race,’’ the overwhelmed mum said. “I’m just so proud of her. That 100m, the last hundred. “God, she can race.’’
Australian swimming has been blessed with so many great moments and champions over the years, but Titmus’s win against Ledecky already stands alongside the best of them.
It’s up there with Ian Thorpe anchoring the relay to win at Sydney in 2000, and Kieren Perkins winning in Atlanta in 1996 from the outside lane, and Dawn Fraser winning her third 100m freestyle gold in Tokyo in 1964, and all the other great moments from swimmers wearing the green and gold togs. Titmus has earned her place, but the hard work isn’t finished yet.
She’s only just beginning. “Swimming in Australia has a great history at the Olympics, so to be part of that now, I feel very humbled and honoured,” Titmus said.
“It is the biggest thing you can pull off in your sporting career, so I’m over the moon. I’m trying to contain it as much as I can because I’ve got a big program ahead of me.
“I can enjoy this afterwards.”