Olympian Ariarne Titmus recovering after surgery to remove benign tumour in ovary

Australian swimming champion Ariarne Titmus has had surgery to remove benign tumours from an ovary.

The women’s 400 metres freestyle world record holder discovered the tumours by chance when having an MRI scan on a sore hip.

The world champion feared implications from the tumours would deny her a chance to be a mother, something she described as her “biggest dream” in an Instagram post. 

But Titmus said she now felt blessed that surgery on Thursday successfully removed the tumours, which she had nicknamed her “little gremlins”. 

“For a while I’ve been managing an ongoing hip injury and three weeks ago I had an MRI to suss out exactly what was going on,” Titmus posted. 

“Sure enough, there was a little something with the hip that is completely manageable.

“However it was something else that the doctors picked up on that made everything else seem irrelevant.

“A large growth was found on my right ovary.

Titmus said she was “petrified” of potentially losing the ovary or “implications that could affect me and my desire to have children one day”.

“However, I am one of the lucky ones,” she said. 

Titmus said her right ovary contained two benign tumours, each four centimetres in size, called dermoids.

“I’m feeling well and relieved they are out,” Titmus said. 

“Being an athlete is tough. Being a woman is tough.

“I’ve learnt that being fit and healthy doesn’t mean you’re immune to these things.

“I feel blessed that I found these tumours before they got even bigger and started to have real implications on my health.”

Titmus, who looms as a star attraction at the pool at next year’s Paris Olympics, said she would now rest and recover “for a couple of weeks” before returning to training.

AAP