Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus lifts the lid on one of her biggest career ‘regrets’ as the Aussie pool queen opens up on taking a break from swimming after Paris

Ariarne Titmus has opened up on one of the biggest regrets of her swimming career, with the four-time Olympic gold medallist admitting that she wants to change her mindset going forward.

The 24-year-old dazzled in Paris, defending her 400m freestyle gold medal from Tokyo before picking up gold in the 4x200m freestyle race.

The Aussie swimming star also took silver in the 200m freestyle but claimed she rued not taking more time to appreciate some of the bigger moments in her career, having now established herself as one of Australia’s greatest swimmers.

Titmus has been on a whirlwind ride since the Paris Olympics closing ceremony claiming that she had been living a ‘polar opposite’ life since the Games.

After having also been on over 40 flights over the past four months, Titmus has had time to reflect on her career so far and revealed during a Q&A session with fans that she hadn’t enjoyed some of the bigger moments in her career.

Reflecting back on winning her first World Championships in Gwangju in 2019, Titmus pointed to a picture of her having beaten swimming queen Katie Ledecky to win gold.

The 24-year-old dazzled in Paris, defending her 400m freestyle gold medal from Tokyo before picking up gold in the 4x200m freestyle race 

She pointed to how she claimed her first World Championship back in 2019, where Titmus (centre) beat Katie Ledecky (left) to win the title 

‘This is me back in 2019 becoming 400 free world champion for the first time,’ she said.

‘I remember being disappointed with the swim and was already thinking to what were meant to be the Olympic Games in 2020.

‘At the time it seemed the right mindset to be in when you’re on the pursuit for Olympic gold.

‘But in hindsight, I regret not enjoying the bigger moments more when I was younger.

‘I was always looking to the next thing and not allowing myself the grace and time to be proud of myself.’

Titmus is now expected to take a break ahead of the 2025 World Championships, adding that she’ll be heading out to Fiji in the coming months for a well-earned holiday.

But looking ahead, she revealed her goals for her career, stating that she wanted to ‘enjoy the special times’ more.

‘As I continue to swim, my goals will be to be more present in the moment, enjoy the small special times with my teammates and not take anything for granted,’ Titmus wrote.

Titmus said she wants to savour bigger moments as her swimming career progresses in the future

Titmus, meanwhile, has had a busy few months since the conclusion of the Paris Games, having recently been spotted at the Melbourne Cup

It comes after Titmus has also opened up about nearly not making it to Paris this year after scans revealed that she had two benign tumours on her ovary.

Reflecting on the moment in an interview with Inherited, Titmus had claimed that it had ‘put a lot of things into perspective’ and that the prospect of infertility had made her realise how much she wanted to be a parent.

Titmus, though, said she is looking forward to taking a break from swimming over the next few months.

‘I head to Fiji after my last commitment of the year for my first solo holiday. It will also be my first holiday since Paris,’ she said on the Q&A.

‘I’m very much in need of some peace and quiet after what has been an incredibly rewarding but busy few months.’