Ariarne Titmus' telling confession after swimming 'love triangle' saga

Australian swim star Ariarne Titmus admits the 'love triangle' saga at the Commonwealth Games has taken an "emotion" toll on more than just the three athletes at the centre of the rumours.

Kyle Chalmers faced a barrage of media scrutiny around his relationships with swimming teammates Emma McKeon and Cody Simpson during the Games, admitting the drama left him questioning his future in swimming.

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McKeon is now in a relationship with Simpson after splitting with Chalmers last year, sparking unfound rumours of a 'love triangle' in the Aussie team.

Chalmers' father lashed out over the 'harassment' of his son at the Games and hit back at Johanna Griggs' claims about the supposed 'love triangle' saga.

On Monday, Aussie swimming great Griggs suggested Chalmers was perpetuating the story by responding to it, prompting a fierce backlash from the swimmer's father.

Speaking to the Ali Clarke Breakfast Show on Mix 102.3 radio this week, Chalmers' father Brett broke down as he addressed the treatment his son has received.

“If it was in a workplace and you’re getting asked the same question over and over and over again, it’s a form of bullying and harassment,” he said.

“It’s not condoned and it’s not accepted. You’d be pulled into the manager’s office pretty fast and if you didn’t stop, you’d probably lose your job, where these people get away with it.

“They destroy people’s lives and livelihoods. It’s pretty hard.”

Chalmers says the ugly saga has also left his mother in tears when he has spoken to her about it.

Speaking to Channel 10's The Project on Thursday after completing her clean sweep of gold medals in the pool in Birmingham, Titmus admitted it wasn't just the three swimmers who were affected by the constant media attention.

“We all certainly hear about it and it’s affecting our teammates so it affects us emotionally,” she said.

“But I think we try to block it out. We’re such a close unit and we want to have each other’s backs and I think we did that this week.

“We want everyone to be happy and not going through those things so it did affect us but we certainly got through it.”

Ariarne Titmus turns attention to Olympics after gold medal haul

Titmus signed off on her time in Birmingham with a Commonwealth Games record in the 400m freestyle to complete a golden clean sweep of her events.

Having already won gold in the pool in the 4x200m medley earlier in the day, Titmus was attempting the rare feat of winning the 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle events at the same Games.

Titmus knew she was facing strong competition with 15-year-old swimming sensation Summer McIntosh already showing she could be a future champion.

However, in a thrilling swim, Titmus showed why she is the Olympic champion and world record holder after producing a Commonwealth Games record of 3:58.06.

Titmus said her focus had already switched to the 2024 Olympics in Paris - where she is expected to once again go head-to-head with US star Katie Ledecky.

"There's always hype around it because it's such an amazing rivalry," said the Australian, who skipped the world championships to focus on the Commonwealths.

"Who would have thought that two women would be swimming as fast as we are over the 400m at the same time?

"But I think it's good also having younger girls coming up. I used to be one of those younger ones who was coming up so it's great for the sport."

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