By: Aileen Liu

Ariarne Titmus, a world record holder in swimming, decided not to go to the World championships. She does not swim for the media and attention; she swims because she loves it. So, she thought that she did not need to be there.

Titmus was born in a small town in Australia. She was inspired by the Australian swimmers Stephanie Rice and Libby Trickett, who swam at the Beijing Olympics. Her face was glued to the screen and her eyes couldn’t keep off of the swimmers. Ariarne used her backyard pool to swim continuously.

Soon, she was on the national team, the Australian Dolphins swim team. Her family moved to a bigger population help their prodigy advance higher. She slowly came close to Ledecky, a gold medalist who would become her biggest rival.

Katie Ledecky is an American competitive swimmer. She’s known as one of the greatest female swimmers of all time. She has won 6 Olympic gold medals and 14 world championship gold ones. She has broken many world records and won 7 Olympic gold medals.

In 2019, Ariarne broke Katie’s world record. Ariarne swims because she enjoys it and it helps her health and fitness. Katie had changed female swimming and Ariarne had bolstered it.

Most people might think that a professional swimmer must’ve been born with strong muscles and powerful limbs. But Titmus wasn’t, she used to lack strength and had to work harder. With her dedication to keep training, she managed to get to where she is now. As she says, “When your body gets tired, swim with your heart.”

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/17/sports/olympics/ariarne-titmus-katie-ledecky-swimming-worlds.html