Coach of furious Olympic champion who claimed Paris 2024 village conditions 'cost her world record' hits back at claims
Olympic swimmer Ariarne Titmus made a claim about the poor conditions in the Olympic Village and their role in costing her a gold medal, which her coach has since addressed.
The Australian athlete broke the world record in the women's 200 metre freestyle in Australia's selection trials with a time of 1:52.23, beating fellow Aussie Mollie O'Callaghan's record of 1:52.85.
However, it was the latter that came out on top in Paris, beating Titmus with an Olympic record time of 1:53.27, also shattering her previous Olympic record of 1:53.50, which was set at the Tokyo 2020 games.
Titmus stopped the clock at 1:53.81, and managed a silver medal in the event behind her compatriot.
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23-year-old Titmus said she was shedding 'happy tears' in her post-swim interview, and when asked how she felt about not breaking her world record, she responded by saying: "It’s really hard to hold your emotions in, in these situations. I know what it’s like to be Olympic champion – I’m honestly happy for her, I’m really happy to be on the podium.
"I had nothing to lose tonight."
It's not all doom-and-gloom (if she thinks a silver Olympic medal is a bad thing) for the swimmer though, as she'd already won a gold in the 400 metre freestyle over the Canadian Summer McIntosh and the American Katie Ledecky.
However, the athlete also talked about her feelings towards the state of the Olympic Village itself.
"It probably wasn't the time I thought I was capable of, but living in the Olympic village makes it hard to perform," she claimed.
"It's definitely not made for high performance, so it's about who can really keep it together in the mind."
According to Reuters, the village has come under fire by some athletes, who haven't been fans of the food available and the level of comfort provided - some South Korean swimmers even moved out of the Olympic village and into a hotel.
But Australian Swimming head coach Rohan Taylor was having absolutely none of it, as he stated: "The Olympics has always been a challenge.
"Every Olympics I've been a part of, every Olympic Games that you see, is a test of athletes' ability to come here, compete and perform when it matters.
"It's about how you manage yourself and whatever environments are presented, whatever the beds are, whatever the food is, everybody deals with it."
"The Olympics has always been this way and that's the way it is. And that's the beauty of it," he continued.
Coach Taylor clearly wants her to soldier on, as she still has more to come in this summer's games.
Titmus is known for swimming in longer distance events, so she will surely be targeting another medal in the 800m freestyle, with the heats scheduled for 2 August and the final the following day.
She isn't the only one complaining about the lifestyle in the village though, as Australian water polo athlete Tilly Kearns claimed that her bed was 'rock solid', while roommate Gabi Palm said her 'back is about to fall off' from sleeping in the cardboard bed.
Some athletes put the beds to the test, finding out just how sturdy they are as they jumped and crashed into them, while they maintained shape and didn't move.
Joshua Nair