‘Hope she isn’t mad’: Why Titmus wasn’t sure about entire chapter of her book
Any story of Ariarne Titmus′ career is incomplete without the details of her rivalry with America’s Katie Ledecky.
That’s why the Australian superstar swimmer decided to name an entire chapter ‘Katie’ in her new memoir Relentless, in honour of her legendary opponent.
USA swimmer Katie Ledecky is honoured with an entire chapter in Titmus’ new memoir. Getty
“Initially, when we came up with the idea to name the chapter after her, I first thought ‘oh I hope she doesn’t get mad that I’m writing a lot about her in the book’,” Titmus said exclusively to nine.com.au.
“Everything I wrote about is fact (and) I really wanted to share with the world that...people have this idea of what a rivalry is in sport.
“Whenever we stood behind the blocks, I was going to do whatever I had to do to win, and I’d look at her with stern eyes.
“But as soon as that race is over, she’s just a person. I think more than anyone, I have such respect for her because I’ve come and gone in my career. And in that eight-year period that I was a huge rival to her, she was already the best in the world prior to me coming along.
“And she is still the best in the world and will continue to be at least until the next Olympic Games.
“That that level of respect that I have for her has just grown, even since retiring.
“I understand more than anyone how hard it is to get to the top and stay at the top, and she’s done that for such a lengthy period of time.”
Titmus first beat Ledecky over 400 metres in the FINA World Championships in 2019, before snatching gold from the icon at the Tokyo Olympics in the 400m free and again in Paris to defend her title.
“I really wanted to detail that in my book and have people understand why chasing her and trying to beat her was such a big deal,” Titmus explained.
“I really wanted people to understand the gravity of what it was to actually believe that you could beat the greatest of all time and that, it’s not a cocky thing to think that.
“I hope that people can hopefully channel that for their own life, but I messaged Katie the other day and said, ‘I want to send you one of my books, I named the fifth chapter ‘Katie’ after you, I hope that’s okay’.
“I hope that she enjoys reading it because I will always be rooting for her and have huge respect for her.”
Titmus sensationally walked away from it all at the peak of her swimming career at 25.
Off the back of the Paris Olympic Games where Titmus etched herself into Australian sporting history, she shocked the world with her decision to leave the sport after a devastating diagnosis “slapped her in the face”.
Dean Boxall’s coaching is a huge point in the book. Getty Images
In the background of her Olympic campaign, Titmus had surgery at 22 to remove two benign growths from her right ovary.
After that, she was instructed to begin egg retrieval and was told the news that she had an extremely low count, which made the swimming icon rethink her career.
“At the end of the day finding out what I did around my fertility, it actually made this decision a lot easier to walk away,” she admitted.
“But I really wanted to open up about it because I was going through this treatment last year in private while working and in the public eye.
“Having to put on a big smile, and so many women around the world do that every day, and so many women battle with it for years, and I wasn’t even trying to have children - I was just trying to conserve my fertility.
“I really wanted to normalise that conversation and discuss the fact that female athletes have to deal with so much more than anyone else.
“The fact that...as you peak as an athlete, your fertility peaks and (you have) to decide basically what you want to do.
“Some sports you can do both, but swimming, it’s quite a rare case to see someone be able to return. So I really wanted to normalise that discussion and I also think for me, I wanted to be open around my desire to be a mum.
“I think that in this day and age, the conversation around wanting to be driven in your career or being a mum is separate, and I really don’t like that narrative.
“I really wanted to make it known that you can really have both; you can have the desire to be a mum and that’s all you want in life, but you can also have desires to have a career.”
Obsessive dedication defined Titmus’ youth. She recalls missing Christmas Day celebrations for pool sessions and living a life completely divorced from the typical teenage experience.
Ariarne Titmus retired after the Paris Olympics. Getty Images
After her career finished, Titmus reflected on the way swimming consumed her life and described the “obsession” as inadvertently leading her to an early retirement.
“That statement is quite profound and it hits you. For me to even realise that in myself, one thing I wouldn’t change anything because I think that I am anything I do in life, I’m all or nothing,” she laughed.
“I just feel like I don’t do anything in halves, and it’s sometimes bitten me in the bum in my personal life, but I could never just go in, you know, half-assed per se.
“So even as a young girl, I recognised in myself that I was quite obsessive and once I had my mind to something, it wasn’t ever going to leave it until I achieved it and I think that really carried me through my career.
“I do wonder if I had ever swum on longer, but you know what? I don’t regret any of it because I do believe I’m right where I’m meant to be right now and what’s happening in my life is where I should be.
“I feel so grateful that I could close, you know, that swimming chapter which has played such a huge role in my life and will forever play a massive role in my life, but I could leave it behind and move on to the next thing.”
Titmus would like to see more parental rights for athletes from Swimming Australia for mothers and fathers still in their international careers.
In the Dolphins squad, there is representation on the male side with fathers such as sprint star Cam McEvoy and Kyle Chalmers, but there is yet to be any full-time female swimmer who tour the globe with a child.
“I definitely think in my time as an athlete on the team, discussions around the female reproductive system definitely became more and more open. They put more and more time into that and educating the athletes, not just the female swimmers but the men as well,” she said.
“There are now a couple of dads on the team, and in the team agreement, you can have your child and your partner travel with you, and they can be with you and stay on team, and it would be roles reversed if there was a mum on the team.
“But swimming is quite a tough sport. The hours that we train, I used to swim 40 hours a week. I mean, I think we’re seeing a little bit of it on the international stage.
“I just knew in myself though, that to be the athlete that I wanted to be, I had to be all in on that or not in at all. And so I just don’t think I had the capacity in myself to be able to do both.”
After retirement, Titmus has now shifted into commentating, a job she “thoroughly enjoys”.
She bridges the gap between athlete and fan, detailing the intricate details of all the swimmers on the Dolphins team she called teammates not too long ago.
With the media in Glasgow for the Commonwealth Games, Titmus admitted the heavy weight she feels to create the perfect “voice” for athletes’ gold-medal runs. Something they can look back on with fondness, as she does.
“More than anything I want people to understand how wonderful our sport is and how wonderful our athletes are,” she said.
“I don’t think many (in) the Australian public understand that we have the best swimmers in the world right here, and you can go and watch them every year.
“And if my voice can add to that and draw more eyes to the sport, then I’m doing my job.
“But at the same time, I actually thoroughly enjoy commentating the races of my former teammates and my friends. I feel like I do have a vested interest, but at the same time I also want to make sure I do my best job possible for them.
“I want whatever voice is attached to those races (to be) something that the athletes can listen back to and be happy with. Because that is - when I listen back to all my major races, I feel so grateful that I love the commentary.
“I’m delivering work that the athletes will be happy with...and it does still feel like it’s my way of staying connected to the team a little bit.
“I’m not just in there because I’m Ariarne. I actually feel like...I’m there for a reason.”
Titmus’ new book Relentless will be released on November 3.
