"I haven't really lost the 400 for five years" - Ariarne Titmus makes her feelings known about receiving nomination for major award

Olympic champion and Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus made her feelings known about being nominated for the 2025 Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award. She reflected that she had been dominating the 400m freestyle for five years and didn’t feel it was a true comeback moment for her.

Ariarne Titmus’s dominance in the 400 m freestyle event started with the 2018 Commonwealth Games, where she won four medals. In the following year, she pulled off a major victory by defeating American legend Katie Ledecky and secured gold.

Later in 2021, Titmus made her Olympic debut and sealed her victory again, besting Ledecky, winning gold with a time of 3:56.69. The next year, she continued her impressive run by setting a new world record in the 400m event at the Australian Championships, swimming 3:56.40, breaking Ledecky’s 2016 record.

Despite undergoing ovarian surgery in September 2023, AriarneTitmus returned stronger and defended her title at the Paris Games. Notably for her comeback, she was nominated for the 2025 Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award.

Recently, on the Mick in the Morning podcast, when asked about the awards and her nomination for the best comeback, Titmus said:

“Initially, when I got nominated for a comeback, I was thinking, I haven't really lost the 400 for five years.” (3:1o onwards)

Arirane Titmus had previously also been nominated for the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award in 2022.

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Ariarne Titmus reflects on the break following her Paris run

Ariarne Titmus at the 2025 Laureus World Sport Awards Madrid - Source: Getty

After adding four more medals to her Olympic tally last year, Ariarne Titmus took a break from swimming, with her sights set on a strong return at the next quadrennial Games. In the same podcast, Titmus reflected on her offseason, saying she hasn’t started spending much time in the pool yet.

“Not in the pool too much yet. I've taken a 12-month break away from swimming. But honestly, I’ve probably been busier than when I’m training because I suddenly have all this time. So I’m throwing myself into everything—doing lots of work, commentary, speaking engagements, and going to events I usually have to skip, like the footy. I even went to Madrid for four days. It’s been great,” she said. (2:34)

Titmus has previously shared that she plans to return to training by July and is aiming for another podium finish at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.