Pool crowns its new king
Chalmers joins swimming elite
IN Rio he was the boy who stormed from the shadows but Kyle Chalmers now stands alone, unchallenged as the new king of Australian swimming.
Chalmers won two gold medals in just over two hours last night, in an evening which saw rain pelt down on the open-air pool and gold medals rain down on Australia’s swimmers, cyclists and even an inspirational weightlifter who powered through grief.
By the end, Australians had collected nine gold, with Chalmers shining among the field of champions.
Patient, calculating and precise, 19-year-old Chalmers coolly sat back and let South Africa’s spring-loaded Chad le Clos tear away to an early lead in the 200m freestyle but it was the Australian who had the inbuilt propeller when it mattered.
Commonwealth Games gold medals do not have Olympic lustre but in some ways they are equally meritorious for Chalmers who was rocked by his sudden fame after Rio — but seems to have returned even stronger.
The 200m is supposed to be Chalmers’ back-up event behind his Olympic gold-medal winning 100m but he is showing world-class potential that could have him juggling his priorities at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
For all of his potential he still talks about the race as if it is an experiment.
“It is a fun race, I still have to have practice how to swim the race,’’ Chalmers said after pipping his close friend and fellow Rio gold medallist Mack Horton.
“We had a plan and we stuck to it. I knew they would go out hard but it gave me a lot of confidence to be strong in the last 50m.
“It’s awesome to go one-two with one of my greatest mates,” Chalmers said.
Chalmers and teammates Cameron McEvoy, James Magnussen and Jack Cartwright also swept to an expected win in the 4x100m freestyle, Mitch Larkin won the 100m backstroke and the serene Emma McKeon headed an Australian trifecta in the 100m butterfly.
Australia had another bountiful day which included Queensland’s Tia-Clair Toomey delivering her promise to salute the memory of her late cousin with an emotional weightlifting gold medal win.
Toomey’s cousin Jade Dixson died last Tuesday in a car crash just days before she was due to watch Toomey at the Games.
Toomey, who last year became the first Australian winner of the CrossFit Games, received raucous crowd support when she quick-stepped to the stage with withering intent to claim the 58kg title at the Carrara Sport and Leisure Centre.
Toomey lifted 114kg with her third and final attempt in the clean and jerk to pip Canadian Tali Darsigny and bring the house down before declaring “this is for her’’.
It’s awesome to go one-two with one of my greatest mates KYLE CHALMERS