By: Sydney Xiong

Twenty-one-year-old Ariarne Titmus is a renowned swimmer, who

first rose to prominence in 2019, when she won gold in the 400 meter freestyle event against

Katie Ledecky, a 15 time world champion. Two years later, Titmus beat Ledecky, winning two

gold medals in the 200- and 400-meter freestyle events and cementing her

reputation as the best middle distance swimmer.

It seems logical for a record holder to race at the swimming championships in Budapest.

Much to the contrary, Titmus made a bold decision not to compete in the most significant

international swim meet of the year. Titmus says that she will not be paying much attention to it,

because she simply decided that she does not need to be there.

“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,.” said Titmus.

Instead, Titmus will be racing at the Commonwealth Games, which is a sporting gathering

of former British colonies. It is not clear whether Ledecky will be lined up against her, and

whether the potential Titmus vs Ledecky match, which is currently perhaps the most exciting

rivalry of the sport, will occur.

Titmus has been a swimmer since the age of seven. She was inspired to start

swimming ever since she saw the Australian swimmers Stephanie Rice and Libby Trickett starting at the Beijing Olympics on television. She soon joined a swim team and made swift progress before joining the Nationals team. Titmus then developed an ambition to beat her biggest rival Ledecky. She started training

with her coach and soon, Titmus started closing the gap between her and Ledecky, slowly and steadily, before claiming her world title.