Ariarne Titmus lifts lid on teammate's foul-mouthed rev-up after Aussie Olympics redemption

Ariarne Titmus has given a hilarious account of the foul-mouthed motivational talk teammate Mollie O'Callghan gave her before the Aussies claimed gold in the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay at the Paris Olympics. O'Callghan got the Aussies off to the perfect start by going quicker than world record time in Friday mornings' (AEST) final, before Lani Pallister, Brianna Throssell and Titmus finished the job to combine for Australia's eighth gold medal in Paris.

The Aussie quartet set a new Olympic record after finishing first in seven minutes 40.33 seconds - 2.78 seconds clear of the United States and China, who took silver and bronze respectively. For Titmus, the victory was redemption for the four-time Olympic gold medallist, who left the Tokyo Games with bronze in the same relay three years ago.

Titmus and the Aussie team were red-hot favourites in the Tokyo final, but were beaten by China and the United States. And Titmus said it was her "personal vendetta" to help the Aussies get gold this time around after feeling like she'd let the team down in Tokyo, despite swimming the fastest split.

In Friday's final in Paris, Titmus gained her redemption after swimming a superb anchor leg for the Aussies to help the team set a new Olympic Record. It came after equally brilliant swims from the other three members of the team, with O'Callaghan and Pallister setting a blistering pace in the first half of the race, before Throssell held off an inspired charge from American legend Katie Ledecky to keep Australia in front.

Ariarne Titmus spurned on after Mollie O'Callaghan rev-up

It set the scene for the final leg of the relay for Titmus, who revealed afterwards that she could hear O'Callaghan standing behind the blocks and giving her a foul-mouthed rev-up before she jumped into the pool. “Look, I don’t think they (her words) can be repeated on national television but I think every Australian at home can put some Aussie slang together and figure out what she had to say,” Titmus revealed about her teammate and good friend, who is also coached by Dean Boxall.

The Aussies entered the water for the final leg of the relay almost neck and neck with China and the USA but Titmus blew her opponents away with a superb anchor split of 1:52.95 to seal the gold medal for Australia. “I’m really proud of this group, we’ve wanted this relay. This was a gold medal that we knew we could be ours, and I’m so proud to do it," Titmus told Channel Nine after the race. "We’re literally living the dream. Very special night.”

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Mollie O'Callaghan equals Ian Thorpe with five Olympic golds

It was also a special night for O'Callaghan, who equalled Aussie swimming legend Ian Thorpe with the second-most Olympic gold medals for Australia, behind only Emma McKeon (six). O'Callaghan won gold in the 200m freestyle, 4x100m relay and 4x200m relay in Paris. And at the Tokyo Games she also won gold in the 4x100m relay and 4x100m medley relay. O'Callaghan can move past Thorpe and go equal with McKeon if she swims in the 4x100m medley relay in Paris.

“It means the world to me,” O’Callaghan told Channel 9. “I’ve dreamt of this moment ever since Tokyo, striving to get on this team.” Victory was also incredibly sweet for Pallister, following her devastating withdrawal from the 1500m freestyle in Paris after coming down with Covid earlier at the Games. While Throssell - who revealed this would be her final Olympic Games - claimed her second Olympic gold medal after being part of Australia's triumphant women's 4x100m medley team at the Tokyo Games, where she didn't swim in the final.

“In Tokyo, I was fortunate to come home with a few medals, but I was a heat swimmer," Throssel said after winning gold in Paris. “It was an honour to stand alongside these three girls and sing the anthem.” Shayna Jack and Jamie Perkins also collected gold after featuring in the heats for the Aussies, with O'Callaghan seen giving her medal to Perkins after the trophy presentation, in a beautiful gesture that moved viewers.

“Jamie is my best friend at training,” O’Callaghan said afterwards. “She’s there for me. She’s been my roommate this whole meet. She has trained her arse off to get here. She’s gone through a back injury. She’s done everything possible. “That gold medal means a lot for me to give to her because it represents what she’s been through and she’s well deserving of it, they make up this team.”

Perkins almost saw the Aussies disqualified in the semi-final after a very risky change that was only marginally deemed legal. Aussie swimming legend Ian Thorpe admitted it was a nervous wait to see if the Aussies were going to be cleared to race in the final, with officials ruling Perkins' change was just 0.03 seconds away from being illegal.