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In short:
Australian swimming star Ariarne Titmus says she is a better athlete than she was during the last Olympic Games.
Titmus holds the world record in the women's 200m and 400m freestyle, two events she won gold in at Tokyo.
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ABC Sport will be covering the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on our live blog, beginning on Saturday, July 27.
Australian swimming star Ariarne Titmus has said she has had her best preparation for any swimming meet ahead of the Paris Olympic Games.
Titmus, who rose to international fame during the last Olympics in Tokyo by winning two gold, silver and bronze medals, is looking to add to her collection as she contests the women's 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle events at the end of the month.
ABC Sport will be live blogging every day of the Paris Olympics from July 27
Speaking from the Dolphins' pre-Olympic training camp at the L'odyssee Aquatic Complex, Titmus said she believed she was a better athlete than she was in Tokyo three years ago.
"I definitely think as an athlete I have grown a lot in three years and as a person I've grown more," Titmus said.
"I think mentally I've got so many learnings from the last Olympic Games.
"I know this is going to be different with big crowds, which I'm very excited for.
"But I think as an athlete — all together as a whole — I'm in a better position than three years ago."
Titmus won gold in the 200m and 400m freestyle during the Tokyo Games.
Already a holder of the 400m world record, the St Peters Western swimming club star fired a warning shot to her rivals during the Olympic trials in June when she set a new world record in the 200m freestyle.
Paris will present a new Olympic experience for Titmus, and other members of the squad, who will not compete at an Olympics in front of crowds.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, postponed to 2021, was hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic and was held in front of no crowds.
Titmus said she is looking forward to an Olympics without the external worries of the pandemic, including mask wearing and social distancing.
"COVID definitely made it harder to focus on the task at hand because there was so much external crap we had to worry about," she said.
"Not having to worry about that is a nice reprieve."
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