Olympic swimming queen Ariarne Titmus cops backlash from an Animal Welfare group ahead of the Melbourne Cup Ariarne Titmus has been named a Melbourne Cup ambassador The swimmer won her third and fourth gold medals in Paris Titmus grew up riding horses on her family's property By Ed Carruthers For Daily Mail Australia Published: 04:48 EST, 3 November 2024 | Updated: 04:48 EST, 3 November 2024 e-mail View comments Ariarne Titmus has been criticised by the organisation urging Australians not to attend the Melbourne Cup after the Olympic swimming queen voiced her excitement for the racing carnival. Fresh off the back of her feats in Paris, the four-time Olympic gold medallist and world record holder was appointed as an ambassador for the Melbourne Cup in September. The 24-year-old grew up riding horses on her family's property in Tasmania and would go on to compete in dressage and showjumping competitions before pursuing a career in swimming.
'Horse riding was my first love. I grew up around horses and competed in dressage and show jumping competitions from the age of seven before swimming took centre stage,' she said to the Victorian Racing Club following the announcement. Titmus, who became the first Olympian to win back-to-back gold medals in the same event - the 400m freestyle - in Paris added that she was excited to get back to Flemington for this week's races.
'There is no place like Flemington on the first Tuesday of November and I can’t wait to get back to Melbourne for.
