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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.