Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus is called ‘Terminator’ and here’s why she is the new-age inspiration

Defeating a world champion you have been following as inspiration becomes a surreal moment. And this is exactly what happened with the 20-year-old Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus.

Ariarne Titmus of Australia won gold in the women’s 400-meter freestyle on Monday, beating defending champion and world-record holder Katie Ledecky from the United States. “Surreal,” said Titmus, who is competing in her first Olympics. “It’s the biggest thing you can do in your sporting career.”

Hailing from a small island-state in Australia - Tasmania, Ariarne began swimming at the age of 7. Her parents were very supportive and took all the efforts to push her skills. They even moved from Tasmania to Queensland for better training.

She is fast and has a winning streak. Her success and dedication has earned her the nickname Terminator. At the world short course championships in 2018, an international swimming competition, Titmus won gold medals in the 200-meter freestyle and the 400-meter freestyle, where she also set a world record for the event with her time of 3:53.92.

Ariarne Titmus got her training under Coach Dean Boxall. The well-known swimming coach is known to coach some of the best swimmers like Mitch Larkin, Clyde Lewis, and Jack Cartwright. He is the man behind the glory of Titmus and has made Titmus go under a hell of training to prepare for the Olympics.

Whichever competition Ariarne has been taking part in, she has not only been winning gold medals but also setting new records. In 2021, Titmus won two gold medals for Australia at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Posting a time of 3:56.69 in the 400-metre freestyle final, she edged out world record holder Katie Ledecky by less than a second. Posting a new Olympic Record of 1:53.50 in the 200-metre freestyle final, she trailed behind Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey for most of the race then came home strong to push herself in front on the last lap.