In the midst of a heaving Champs-Élysées, somehow blending in and glowing like a beacon at once, the gentle blonde curls of Ariane Titmus were unmistakable.

It was the day after the closing ceremony of Paris 2024 and the Olympics were over. Paris remained abuzz, burning hot in the midday sun.

Just down the famous avenue, locals sprinted after a bus carrying the French men's and women's basketball teams. But none noticed Titmus, one of the superstars of the Games and among the greatest distance swimmers of all time, casually dressed and aimlessly window shopping.

Titmus, for the first time in months and maybe even years, looked like a young woman at peace. She did not know then her final ever Olympic race had been run, but perhaps even in those very first moments on the other side of com

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