Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus shocks fans with retirement from elite swimming
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Brisbane (AP): Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus has announced her retirement from elite swimming in a social media post that took Australian sports fans by surprise.
The 25-year-old 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.
“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 in a video posted Thursday on Instagram.
“And that's OK.”
At the Paris Olympics last year, Titmus won the 400-meter freestyle to defend her title in a highly-hyped race against American great Katie Ledecky and Canada's Summer McIntosh.
All three had held the world record in the event at some stage.
In 2023, Titmus had surgery to remove two benign ovarian tumors but returned to the highest level quickly.
“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.”
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.
She initially posted the news as 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.”
Australian Olympic Committee president Ian Chesterman praised Titmus for setting “amazing standards for the sport and those that follow.”
“Ariarne has always conducted herself so well out of the pool as well as in the pool," Chesterman added in a statement. “Someone who you talk about being an absolute champion, someone who has shown all the traits that you want in a young athlete, and who has achieved the ultimate success.”
In an earlier social media post, Swimming Australia congratulated Titmus for her “unwavering dedication to swimming in Australia and for inspiring us all around the world.”
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
