Ariarne Titmus just won gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics. She'd trade all her medals for one thing.

Early Sunday morning Australian time, Ariarne Titmus won her fifth Olympic medal — and a gold, at that. 

Taking out the women's 400m freestyle, the win made Titmus the first Australian woman to take home back-to-back gold medals since Dawn Fraser in 1964, and only the second in Australian history to successfully defend an individual Olympic win.

"There was a lot of expectation on me," she said after the race at the Paris Olympic Games. "I definitely felt it this week, more than ever. It is nice to have a monkey off my back now."

With her final time of 3:57.49, Titmus dominated the race from start to finish, even if she didn't beat her personal best (and world record) of 3:55.38, which she set last year at the World Championships.

"I wanted to come out and have fun," she said. "It is about getting a hand on the wall first, it is not about swimming as fast as you can.

"I did my best, I will forever be back-to-back Olympian champion, which is really cool."

Titmus has been preparing for the 2024 Olympics for months, but all the while, she's remained fixed on the light at the end of the tunnel.

"The months out from the Olympic Games are the toughest part. Everything, such as my social life and work outside of swimming has been put on the back burner. And you have to be content with that decision," Titmus told Mamamia's But Are You Happy podcast recently.

But amid the strive for a gold medal, the Australian champion swimmer has another major focus weighing on her. 

Listen to Ariarne Titmus speak on this topic on But Are You Happy below. Post continues after audio.

Since she was a little girl, Titmus has always had a love for swimming.

At the Tokyo Olympics, she took the swimming world by storm. It was her first ever Olympic Games, and she won two Gold medals for Australia. At the time, she was just 20 years old. 

Then in 2023, amid her preparation for the Paris Games, she had to undergo surgery to remove benign tumours on her ovaries. It was a procedure she secretly feared would rob her of her ability to have children.

"I was like, 'This can't be real, I can't be at the peak of my athletic career and be getting blood tests for cancer on my ovaries.' It was quite a scary moment. Once we found out what it was, it was pretty harmless but huge," she explained.

"I think it really hit me that I want children so badly one day, it's like my biggest goal in my life. I would give up every medal I've ever won to be a mother."

The operation to remove the tumours was successful, and Titmus said that the experience gave her a new perspective on life. 

"It made me realise that my job as an athlete is really a snippet of my life. I'm not afraid to talk about how I felt. I just feel so lucky now that I'm fine. I still get to train every day and chase my goals in the pool, but also hopefully, be a mum too. Our bodies are created to reproduce and create miracles. And you kind of forget about all that," she said.

"I think I went back to training probably in the best mindset I had in a really long time. It hit home that I have so many wonderful things in my life, I get to swim with my best mates every day and we get to represent our country, I get to do what I love as a career. But it's not my whole life."

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Right now, though, Titmus' focus is on the Olympics. 

She starts her weekday mornings waking up at 5:20am. By 6:15am she's in the pool.

"We start with pre-pool things like stretching. I'll be in the water for about two and a half hours, clock up seven kilometres and then go up to the gym and start lifting. By the time I get home, it will be about 11am. Then I eat breakfast, go for a sleep, wake up just after 1pm, have lunch, do a few emails, chill and then I'm out the door at 2:15pm to get in the pool again," Titmus said. 

"It's a full-time job. But I guess it's what you have to do to be the best."

"I also remind myself that a lot of people would dream to be in my position, being in the Olympics. I think I would regret it for the rest of my life if I resented the work that I have to put into being a professional athlete. I should be grateful that I've been blessed with this incredible gift and opportunity. It's how you choose to look at it."

With gratitude though, is an equally important realisation for Titmus. She's far more than just a 'swimmer'.

"I swim, I'm not a swimmer," Titmus explained. "Swimming is an aspect of my life. At the moment, it's a major aspect of my life, but it's not who I am. I know that who I am as a person has way more to offer the world than what my swimming does. I have the most wonderful family, the most wonderful friends. I live in a great house, which I'm proud of. So I am happy in my life. And I'm content."

Watch the Olympics on Stan Sport, the only place to watch every event ad-free with 4K and international multi-language channels. Go to Stan.com.au/Olympics for more info.

This article was originally published in July 2024 and has since been updated.

You can listen to the full interview on But Are You Happy now.

Feature Image: Getty.