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Ariarne Titmus is swimming without fear and toward greatness

Ariarne Titmus celebrates after winning the 400m freestyle in record time at the Tokyo Olympics. (Odd Andersen/AFP via Getty Images)

Ariarne Titmus didn’t do much swimming from August through September.

The first two weeks after the Olympics meant quarantine. It was then that Titmus had a chance to reflect on everything she had accomplished.

In Tokyo, the Australian swimmer won gold in the 400-meter freestyle, handing Katie Ledecky her first-ever individual Olympic loss. Titmus’ time of 3:56.69 set an Australian record and made her the second-fastest swimmer in the event, falling just short of Ledecky’s world record from the 2016 Rio Olympics.

She went on to win another individual gold in the 200-meter freestyle, this time setting an Olympic record. Also medaling in the 800-meter freestyle and the 4×200-meter freestyle relay in Tokyo, Titmus returned to Australia with a haul from her first Olympics — two gold medals, one silver and one bronze.

So, it wasn’t easy for the 21-year-old to go from peaking in her sport to, essentially, doing nothing.

“It was a really strange feeling going from the biggest high of your life down to pretty much the most boring two weeks of my life,” Titmus tells Just Women’s Sports. “I don’t think there’s a point in your life where you’re forced to rest and do nothing.”

There was press to be done, and sleep to catch up on. The gravity of what she had accomplished, as a swimmer from the small Australian state of Tasmania, didn’t really set in until Titmus was able to step foot outside of the bubble that she had lived in for the two months leading up to and during Tokyo.

“When I saw my family and the impact that my performance had on them and the emotion that came off, I think that’s when I started to realize what I had achieved,” she says.

“Even coming home now to Australia and walking around and seeing people, I just feel like our country’s had a really rough trot with COVID the past few months. Half the country is in lockdown at the moment. I just think the Olympics probably really lifted the spirits of people.”

***

Steve Titmus knew after Ariarne won her first national junior championship at 15 years old that his daughter could do something special in swimming.

“When Ariarne touched the wall first and we jumped in the air with joy and excitement, the people in front of us turned around and they looked at us and they went, ‘What?’” Steve recalls now. “It was like, ‘No, you’re from Tasmania. You can’t win. That’s an absolute impossibility.’”

After the race, Swimming Australia approached the Titmus family with the notion that Ariarne could one day swim for her country. With 75 percent of Australia’s national team swimmers and coaches working out of Southeast Queensland, the family started having conversations about moving to the area for better training opportunities.

Ariarne talked about it with her parents, Steve and Robyn, and her sister Mia. After about a month of deliberation, they decided she would go.

“We’ve lived by the motto in our family that we never made sacrifices — we made choices,” Steve says. “We made the choice to move to Queensland for her to chase her dreams, but that also gave her younger sister Mia schooling opportunities and career opportunities.”

When training under Peter Gartrell took Ariarne as far as she could go, the Titmus family had another decision to make. Gartrell knew Dean Boxall, who coached one of the best age-group squads in the country at St. Peters Western, and approached him about the possibility of taking her on.

Ariarne knew that making the switch would benefit her swimming. And it helped that their personalities clicked, with Boxall describing her as “a bit of a chatterbox” before their first meeting.

“I went and met with Dean and his values aligned with me. He expects hard work and I love hard work,” Ariarne says. “I also enjoyed him as a person. I felt like we would click really well. I started and everything just fell into place.”

“He was quite flamboyant as a coach,” Steve says. “It was a style that we thought Arnie just might gel with.”

Within the first couple of months of Titmus and Boxall working together, Titmus cracked 4:10 in the 400-meter freestyle for the first time. By the end of 2016, she made her first senior national team.

After Titmus’ first World Championships in 2017, people started paying more attention to the young up-and-comer who might one day unseat Ledecky. Those rumblings grew louder when Titmus beat Ledecky at the 2019 World Championships.

“I think it just was the switch that I needed,” Titmus says. “I don’t think we ever thought that it would pan out like this, though.”

When COVID-19 shut everything down in March 2020, Boxall made sure that Titmus had somewhere to train. Then he would jump into the pool with her so that she had someone to race against.

“I don’t know of anyone who’s more passionate about coaching in this sport than Dean Boxall,” Steve says. “He puts in way beyond what anybody should be expected to put in.”

Eventually, pools in Australia started to open up again, allowing one person per lane and a training window of one hour.

“You couldn’t really do much,” Titmus says. “It was just trying to roll the arms over and get as much swimming in as we could.”

On March 23, the Australian Federation announced it would not send a team to the Olympics due to COVID-19. One week later, the International Olympic Committee postponed the Games until 2021.

“Initially, when the Olympics were postponed, I was like, ‘This is so crap. I’m ready to go now,’” Titmus says. “But then I realized the bigger picture. I don’t think it would have been fair to have the Olympics at that point in time.”

Instead, Titmus embraced the extra year of training, ramping up the intensity in the pool and maintaining minimal contact with the outside world, including friends and family.

The work she and her team put in then to be ready for July makes Titmus’ Olympic gold in the 400 all the more special. It also means that Boxall’s now-infamous reaction to the win didn’t surprise her.

“It was not unexpected,” Titmus says. “That’s typical Dean. That’s just his personality.

“Every time I watch it back, I just laugh more and more because when he grabs that railing, it’s just so funny. … It goes to show how much he had my back.”

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Titmus and her coach, Dean Boxall, soak in her 200m freestyle win at the Olympics. (Abbie Parr/Getty Images)

***

For as competitive as Titmus and Ledecky are in the pool, the swimmers have a lot of respect for each other and what each has accomplished. Titmus said as much after her win in the 400m freestyle, a sentiment Ledecky was quick to echo.

“She said she couldn’t have done it without me, and I could say the same about her,” Ledecky told NBC after the race in Tokyo. “She’s really pushed me. I think it’s great for the sport.”

“I have a lot of respect for Katie because I know what I’ve had to do to get to this point and swim this fast,” Ariarne says now. “I definitely wouldn’t be in this position without her because she’s just pushed the barrier. … If the goalpost was set back and she was swimming four minutes, I don’t think I’d be under four minutes yet.”

Titmus actually felt a sense of calm in Tokyo. She trusted in her preparation and believed she could achieve what she had set out to do five years prior. Still, beating Ledecky required kicking it into another gear.

“It was a rarity that you would beat Katie Ledecky going 3:58,” she says. “I think the work that I did in the lead-up to these Games in the last few months in the pool just gave me this confidence.

“I was doing things in training I didn’t think I could do at this point in my career. Just having confidence in the work I did really got me over the edge.”

Titmus also felt better physically when she landed in Tokyo. Until the middle of March, an injury to her subscapularis tendon had hindered her training.

“I had to swim for a long time with my shoulder not feeling right,” she says, adding that from December to March she was unable to do a main set, causing her to lose her swimming fitness. “At the Olympics, in the training camp prior, I was still modifying things in Cairns around my shoulder that I couldn’t do.

In the days leading up to her first Olympic race, Titmus says the injury “settled down” and, for the first time in months, her shoulder wasn’t an issue.

The relief helped Titmus unlock the next level in her swimming, the one she knew she’d need to beat Ledecky on the big stage.

“I hope that the way that I swim my races also inspires people to try and change their tactics up and swim with no fear,” she says. “Because that’s just the way I’ve been. I was never afraid to take it to Katie.”

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Titmus and Ledecky have fostered one of the best rivalries in the sport. (Al Bello/Getty Images)

***

Titmus hasn’t thought much beyond the next couple of months. While she would love to compete in three total Olympics, first there are the 2022 World Championships in May and the Commonwealth Games in August. In all, it’s set to be a busy year.

But first, Titmus plans to take a long break.

“I haven’t had more than two weeks off in a row in my entire life,” she says. “I need time for my body and my mind to recover. I want to go back to training knowing that I’m ready to go and not get to next year and be already like, ‘Oh, I want another break.'”

Titmus will pick her training back up in October, she says, after about eight weeks out of the pool.

“Then it’ll be back to what’s been our life for the past decade,” Steve says. “We’ll be providing the support and stability at home for her to, once again, continue to chase further Olympic dreams.”

In the meantime, she’ll stay active without the added pressure of training. On Sept. 7, Titmus celebrated her 21st birthday over a long lunch with her closest family members and friends. As a certified foodie, Titmus decided on Opa Bar + Mezze in Brisbane.

She’ll also make time to bake and cook the foods she didn’t allow herself to eat prior to the Olympics. There will be heaps of pavlovas, her mother’s favorite dessert, as well as slow-cooked meats thanks to her trusted pressure cooker.

Unlike the pool, the kitchen is a place where Titmus doesn’t have to be racing against the clock.

“It’s just a really relaxing thing for me,” she says. “It keeps my mind off swimming, and I just enjoy the whole creative aspect and making up recipes and really enjoying the calmness.”

With the Paris Olympics just three years away after COVID-19 disrupted the cycle, Titmus doesn’t have as much time to hit the reset button. Luckily, at home, she doesn’t have to worry about being anybody but herself.

“We don’t have any expectation on whether Arnie will defend her gold medals,” Steve says. “Arnie is still, now, our 21-year-old daughter, and she is this goofy girl who happens to be able to swim faster than most other people in the world.

“From our point of view, Mia’s nursing studies are just as important and a thrill for us as Ariarne chasing an Olympic gold medal.”

Still, Steve is looking forward to seeing what Ariarne can accomplish in the next three years and beyond.

So is she, all while trying not to lose sight of what drew her to the pool in the first place.

“Once you get the taste of winning, it’s very addictive, and winning at the highest level is very addictive,” Ariarne says. “I still feel like, even though I’m now an Olympic champion, I have so much more to give in the sport and so much more to learn.”

Phoenix Mercury, Golden State Valkyries Ride Upset Wins into the WNBA Weekend

Phoenix Mercury players including Satou Sabally huddle during a 2025 WNBA game against the New York Liberty.
Phoenix rose to No. 3 in the WNBA standings with Thursday's win over New York. (Catalina Fragoso/NBAE via Getty Images)

Two key upsets headlined Thursday's WNBA bill, sending the Phoenix Mercury soaring into third place in the league standings while the No. 6 Golden State Valkyries continued to outwit opponents.

The red-hot Mercury snagged their fourth straight win by taking down the No. 2 New York Liberty 89-81 on Thursday night, overcoming an 35-point performance from two-time MVP Breanna Stewart with five double-digit Phoenix scorers.

Meanwhile out West, the Valkyries stifled a surging No. 7 Fever, downing Indiana 88-77 in part by holding star guard Caitlin Clark to just 3-for-14 from the field — and 0-for-7 from behind the arc.

"We were being disruptive, we know that she doesn't like physicality, we know that she wants to get to that left step-back," Golden State head coach Natalie Nakase said about the Valkyries' strategy to effectively contain Clark.

Though the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx and 2024 WNBA champions New York still hold court atop the table, Thursday's actions proves that other squads are making some unexpected in-roads.

Putting together an impressive road record are the Mercury, who will ride a 4-2 away record into their Saturday matchup against the No. 11 Chicago Sky — the last stop on a four-game road trip that's been perfect for Phoenix thus far.

Already flipping the script on expectations is Golden State, with the 2025 expansion team rising despite relying on a hodgepodge roster as several players compete at EuroBasket 2025. The Valkyries will aim to keep their winning momentum in their Sunday clash with the No. 12 Connecticut Sun.

How to watch the Mercury, Valkyries this weekend

Both of Thursday's victors will be back in action this weekend, with Phoenix facing Chicago at 1 PM ET on Saturday, airing live on ABC.

Then on Sunday, Golden State will host Connecticut at 8:30 PM ET, with live coverage on WNBA League Pass.

Las Vegas Aces Aim to Stop Skid Ahead of Tough WNBA Weekend Matchups

Las Vegas's A'ja Wilson tries to defend a lay-up from Seattle's Gabby Williams during a 2025 WNBA game.
The Las Vegas Aces will face both Seattle and Indiana this weekend. (Rio Giancarlo/Getty Images)

In another weekend full of WNBA action, all eyes are on Las Vegas, as the No. 8 Aces will try to curb a two-game losing streak against two formidable opponents.

A successful weekend for Las Vegas could hinge on three-time WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson's potential return from injury, with the star forward recently upgraded to "questionable" after landing in concussion protocol last week.

Overall, the margin for error has narrowed in the middle of the WNBA pack, as talented teams continue to translate quality performances into consistency.

  • No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 8 Las Vegas Aces, Friday at 10 PM ET (ION): The Aces will try to end their free fall in Friday's head-to-head battle with a Seattle side that can beat anybody at their best.
  • No. 7 Indiana Fever vs. No. 8 Las Vegas Aces, Sunday at 3 PM ET (ESPN): Las Vegas next faces a Fever team still smarting from Thursday's away loss to the Golden State Valkyries, with both teams narrowly clinging to positions above the playoff line.
  • No. 2 New York Liberty vs. No. 5 Seattle Storm, Sunday at 7 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The Liberty have a comfortable hold on second place, but with two losses in their last three games, New York is flirting with danger entering their Sunday game with Seattle — particularly if star big Jonquel Jones is out after suffering a knock to the ankle on Thursday.

Ultimately, there's no rest for the weary in the WNBA, as a series of difficult matchups can see a single error quickly slide into a losing streak.

NWSL Kicks Off Final Gameday Slate Ahead of Summer Break

The San Diego Wave celebrate a goal by María Sánchez during a 2025 NWSL match.
The San Diego Wave will take on 2024 runners-up Washington on Sunday. (Marcus Ingram/Getty Images)

The final NWSL weekend heading into the league's six-week summer break has arrived, giving teams one more chance to prove themselves before regular-season play pauses to make way for major international tournaments.

With a five-point gap separating No. 1 Kansas City from No. 2 Orlando in the NWSL standings, the Current will enter the break as the 2025 Shield frontrunners regardless of this weekend's results.

Despite Kansas City's grip atop the table, there's still plenty of room for movement both above and below the postseason cutoff line, as clubs across the NWSL look to wrap their midseason finales on a high note:

  • No. 1 Kansas City Current vs. No. 10 Angel City FC, Friday at 8 PM ET (Prime): Angel City has a shot at launching themselves above the cutoff line on Friday, but they'll have to snap the Current's five-game winning streak to make it happen.
  • No. 8 Gotham FC vs. No. 9 Bay FC, Saturday at 7:30 PM ET (ION): Gotham and Bay FC enter the weekend tied on points while staring at each other from on opposite sides of the playoff line — meaning a Saturday win for either club could set the tone for the rest of the 2025 season.
  • No. 3 San Diego Wave FC vs. No. 4 Washington Spirit, Sunday at 10 PM ET (CBS Sports): The weekend's only top-table clash could see San Diego sprint back into second place — unless Washington leapfrogs the upstart Wave to claim the third-place spot.

KPMG Women’s PGA Championship Ups Purse to $12 Million, Ties LPGA Tour Record

Thailand's Jeeno Thitikul hits a shot during the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship.
Thai golfer Jeeno Thitikul is in the lead after one round at the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship. (Sam Hodde/Getty Images)

The LPGA Tour has turned its attention to Texas, with the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship — the third major of the pro golf season — teeing off in Frisco to a flurry of first-round action on Thursday.

All of the sport's Top 100 athletes are participating in this week's event, including No. 1 Nelly Korda, who sits in a 14th-place tie with an even-par first-round performance, and surging US dark horse No. 50 Lexi Thompson, who tied for 10th in her Thursday return from a brief retirement.

However, leading the pack heading into Friday's second round is Thailand's world No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul, who finished the first day of competition atop the leaderboard with a score of 4-under-par.

Australia's No. 24 Minjee Lee also posted a strong start, capping Thursday at 3-under to sit in second place.

While the sport's best chase victory on the links, the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship is already making history off the green.

Not only is it the first-ever women's major to tee off at Frisco's Fields Ranch East, the tournament also increased its purse to $12 million on Tuesday — nearly tripling the $4.5 million prize pool from just four years ago and tying the US Women's Open for the LPGA Tour's highest payout in the process.

How to watch the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship

The third LPGA Grand Slam of 2025 continues through Sunday.

Friday's second round will air live on the Golf Channel, while coverage of Saturday and Sunday's final rounds will air across NBC and Peacock.

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