Olympic champion Ariarne 'Arnie' Titmus terminates swimming career, shocks fans

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — The Olympic champion known affectionately as “Arnie” chose to terminate her elite swimming career immediately, an ending that caught her audience completely by surprise.

Ariarne Titmus, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, had been widely expected to return to competitive swimming following a break in the wake of the Paris Games and train for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

Instead, she posted a video on Instagram on Thursday announcing her retirement at the age of 25.

“I’ve always loved swimming, it’s been my passion since I was a little girl, but I guess I’ve taken this time away from the sport and realized some things in my life that have always been important to me are just a little bit more important to me now than swimming,” Titmus said. “And that’s OK.”

At the Paris Olympics last year, Titmus successfully defended her 400-meter freestyle title in a much-hyped race against U.S. great Katie Ledecky and Canada's Summer McIntosh.

All three have held the world record in the event at some stage.

“Knowing now what I know, I wish maybe I enjoyed that last race a little bit more,” she said. “But I guess having this 12 months away I’ve had the chance to explore what life is like without swimming — and that was always my intention — but I think a turning point for me was in the lead-up to the Paris Games I went through some health challenges which, quite frankly, really rocked me.”

In 2023, Titmus had surgery to remove two benign ovarian tumors but returned to the highest level quickly to prepare for the next competition.

On Thursday, she initially posted the news of her retirement in the form of a letter to her seven-year-old self.

“Today you retire from competitive swimming. 18 years you spent in the pool competing. 10 of those representing your country. You went to two Olympic Games and, even better, you won!!!” she wrote. “The dreams you had, they all came true. You achieved more than you ever thought you were capable of and you should be so proud.”

Titmus retires as the world-record holder in the 200 freestyle and with 33 international medals, including four gold, three silver and one bronze Olympic gold medals and four world titles.

Kaylee McKeown, who has won five Olympic gold medals including relay wins with Titmus, described her friend and teammate as “incredible.”

"Privileged to have witnessed a living legend in the sport.”

Swimming delivers most of Australia’s gold medals at the Olympics, and it’s a big part of life Down Under where most kids have to swim at least once a year in a school competition, or carnival, during their childhood.

So the sudden retirement made national, headline news.

In a “Thankyou Arnie!” farewell note, Swimming Australia said there'd be “a seismic void for the Dolphins’ to fill as it was customary at major meets for Titmus to swim the 400 freestyle event on the opening night.”

The swimming federation noted that Titmus had dominated the race for seven years and took her responsibility as a competition agenda setter very seriously.

“Before her successful Paris campaign, Titmus vowed to win Australia’s first gold medal of the 2024 Paris Olympics not just for the Dolphins,” Swimming Australia said, "but for the entire Australian Olympic team and for the Australian public.”

Titmus, who was raised in the southern island of Tasmania, made reference to her relatively isolated home state on Thursday.

“I probably shouldn’t have become Olympic champion,” she said. “I come from the (southernmost) place in this country — freezing, the pools aren’t open outdoors for seven months of the year. I was able to take it to the world, and I probably shouldn’t have.

“I think I’m a testament to setting big goals and chasing them and not being afraid of them. Swimming’s helped me realize that anything is possible if you work for it.”

AP swimming: https://apnews.com/hub/swimming

FILE - Gold medalist Ariarne Titmus, of Australia, centre, stands with silver medalist, Summer McIntosh, of Canada, left, and bronze medalist Katie Ledecky, of the United States, on the podium after winning the women's 400-meters freestyle final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in Nanterre, France.(AP Photo/Matthias Schrader,FILE)

FILE - Australia's Ariarne Titmus poses with her gold medal after winning the women's 400-meter freestyle final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in Nanterre, France. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis,File)

LONDON (AP) — Britain's Conservative Party, which governed the country from 2010 until it suffered its worst-ever electoral defeat two years ago, was plunged into fresh turmoil Thursday after its leader sacked the man widely seen as her greatest rival for apparently plotting to defect from the party.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said in a video and statement on X that she sacked the party's justice spokesperson Robert Jenrick due to “irrefutable evidence that he was plotting in secret to defect" in a way that was “designed to be as damaging as possible” to the party. Badenoch also ejected Jenrick from the party's ranks in Parliament and suspended his party membership.

“The British public are tired of political psychodrama and so am I,” she said. “They saw too much of it in the last government, they’re seeing too much of it in this government. I will not repeat those mistakes.”

Though Badenoch did not specify which party Jenrick was planning to switch to, Nigel Farage, leader of the hard-right Reform UK party, said he had “of course” had conversations with him.

In the past 12 months, the Conservatives have suffered a string of defections to Reform UK, including some former Cabinet ministers.

Farage said in a press briefing in Edinburgh, the Scottish capital, that coincided with Badenoch's statement that, “hand on heart,” he wasn't about to present Jenrick as the latest Conservative to defect to Reform, an upstart, anti-immigration party.

“I’ll give him a ring this afternoon,” he said. “I might even buy him a pint, you never know.”

The Conservatives are fighting not just the Labour government to their left, but Reform UK to the right.

Reform, which only has a handful of lawmakers in the House of Commons, is tipped to make a major breakthrough in an array of elections this May, including those to the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments, at the expense of both the Conservatives and Labour.

Jenrick, who continued to attract speculation about leadership ambitions despite being beaten in 2024, has appeared more open than Badenoch to the prospect of some sort of deal between the Conservatives and Reform to unite the right in the run-up to next general election, which has to take place by 2029.

Jenrick has yet to respond to the news of his sacking.

Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose favorability ratings have fallen sharply since the general election following a series of missteps, questioned why it took Badenoch “so long” to sack Jenrick given all the speculation that he was looking to either challenge her or to defect to Reform.

Badenoch, a small-state, low-tax advocate, has shifted the Conservatives to the right, announcing policies similar to those of U.S. President Donald Trump, including a promise to deport 150,000 unauthorized immigrants a year.

Her poor poll ratings and lackluster performance in Parliament had stirred speculation that she could be ousted long before the next election.

However, she has been making a better impression in Parliament in recent weeks, particularly during her weekly questioning of Starmer, in a way that appears to have cemented her position as leader.

The party is no stranger to turmoil, having gone through six leaders in the space of 10 years, five of them serving as prime minister. Widespread anger at the way the Conservatives were governing Britain led to their defeat at the general election in July 2024, when they lost around two-thirds of their lawmakers, their worst performance since the modern party was created nearly 200 years ago.

Robert Jenrick speaking at a Reform UK press conference in Westminster, London, where it was announced the former Conservative MP has joined Reform UK, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

Robert Jenrick with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage at a Reform UK press conference in Westminster, London, where it was announced the former Conservative MP has joined Reform UK, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

Reform Party leader Nigel Farage addresses protesters outside the Iranian embassy, in London, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

Kemi Badenoch with Robert Jenrick before being announced as the new Conservative Party leader following the vote by party members at 8 Northumberland Avenue in central London, Nov. 3, 2024. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)