SYDNEY, Australia, 16 October (H.S.): Four-time Olympic gold medallist and Australian swimming icon Ariarne Titmus has announced her immediate retirement from the sport at the age of 25, a decision she described as really tough but one she is happy with.

The announcement on Thursday marks the end of a decorated career for one of the sport’s most dominant figures.Known as the Terminator, Titmus is celebrated for her historic victories in the 400m freestyle at both the Tokyo and Paris Olympic Games, where she memorably out-dueled American legend Katie Ledecky. Her back-to-back golds in the same event made her the first Australian swimmer to achieve the feat since Dawn Fraser in 1964.

In her announcement, Titmus revealed that a benign ovarian tumour discovered before the Paris Games had really rocked me mentally and shifted her perspective. I’ve taken this time away from the sport and realised some things in my life that have always been important to me are just a little bit more important to me now than swimming, and that’s okay, she stated.

Tributes from the swimming world were immediate. Her great rival, Katie Ledecky, called her an outstanding competitor, while fellow Australian Olympians Kaylee McKeown and Kyle Chalmers lauded her as a living legend.

Titmus retires with a remarkable collection of 33 international medals, including eight Olympic medals, nine from world championships, and eight from the Commonwealth Games. She also holds the world record in the 200m freestyle.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar