4-time Olympic gold medalist Ariarne Titmus retires from swimming at 25

Ariarne Titmus, the Australian swimmer who reached the top of the podium at two Olympic Games, said Thursday that she is retiring from competitive swimming to focus on other aspects of her life that are "more important" now than swimming

Ariarne Titmus, the Australian swimmer who reached the top of the podium at two Olympic Games, said Thursday that she is retiring from competitive swimming to focus on other aspects of her life that are "more important" now than swimming.

Titmus, 25, won two gold medals and two silver medals at last year's Olympics in Paris. That was just a small improvement on her appearance at the Tokyo Games, where she won two gold, a silver and a bronze medal.

Titmus said in a video on Instagram that spending the last year away from competition helped her come to her decision.

"I think a turning point for me or a time when the flip switched for me was in the lead-up to the Paris Games. I went through some health challenges, which — quite frankly — really rocked me mentally," Titmus said. "It probably was the first time where I considered some things outside of swimming."

She added that she had spent years in a "ruthless pursuit" of her goals but that health challenges forced her to "look within" regarding her priorities.