CHALMERS’ LIMITS ALL IN THE MIND
THE only person who can stop Kyle Chalmers returning to the peak of world swimming is himself.
He has all the physical tools to remain a force in men’s freestyle sprint for years to come because he has the heart of a lion and the ability to produce his best on the biggest stages.
After winning the Olympic gold medal as a schoolkid in 2016, it’s only bad luck that’s stopped Chalmers from getting to the top again, as he’s battled injuries and run into a red-hot Caeleb Dressel.
He didn’t beat the best of the best to win the 100m freestyle gold at the Commonwealth Games, but the dominant way he won was proof he can deliver when it matters.
As an Olympic champion, Chalmers has nothing more to prove in the sport, but he has the ability to win again, even though the challengers are coming thick and fast.
His big rival at the 2024 Paris Olympics is likely to be Romanian teenage whiz-kid David Popovici, who is the current world champion in both 100m and 200m and has been swimming faster than anyone else at his age He’s just 17, younger than
Chalmers was when he won at Rio.
But Popovici is not Chalmers’ biggest hurdle. The unanswered question – and the one that is most critical to his wellbeing – is how he’s coping mentally.
He’s been candid about the emotional struggles he’s faced since being thrust into the spotlight at such a young age, but it reached a tipping point in Birmingham.
He received a lot of backslapping support on his Instagram page when he lashed out at media reports of a rift in the team after he didn’t publicly congratulate Emma McKeon when they joined forces to win gold in the mixed relay.
Both swimmers insisted there was no problem but as any public relations 101 student will attest, the optics after the race were not great. Every photographer at the pool was ready to capture the moment they embraced, but it didn’t happen.
Rightly or wrongly, Chalmers’ continued rants on social media against the press fuelled concerns about the state of his mind.
His first priority when he gets home should be to get the appropriate support, because swimming pools don’t provide the clearest reflections he needs before figuring out what’s next.