Kyle in line for Games revival
OLYMPIC champion Kyle Chalmers admits the past year has been a “roller coaster ride” but looks forward to rebounding at the Commonwealth Games.
Chalmers will line up at the Victorian state championships today, starting a heavy week of racing in Melbourne and Adelaide ahead of the Games trials on the Gold Coast next month.
It’s there the 19-year-old hopes to start his return to the top of the sport after missing last year’s world championships to undergo heart surgery.
“It has been a crazy roller coaster ride,” Chalmers said of the highs and lows since he won gold at the Rio Olympics.
“But that’s the life of an elite athlete, you don’t know what’s going to happen.
“I could dive into the pool tomorrow morning and do my shoulder and not be able to swim for another year.
“It was hard not doing world championships this year but (the heart surgery) gives me my best opportunity to represent Australia again at the Commonwealth Games which is something that I really want to experience in my life.”
Chalmers said having surgery to treat the condition that had been responsible for several episodes of a racing heart, provided him with some certainty going forward.
“It’s not something that I have to stand up behind the blocks and worry about now, hopefully it’s sorted,” he said.
Chalmers kickstarted his Games preparation with a third placing at the Queensland state championships last month behind former world champion James Magnussen and rising star Jack Cartwright.
And while his time of 49.60sec was more than two seconds outside his best, Chalmers was thrilled with the result in a stacked field while in hard work.
“It was a cracking field and (I competed after) probably the hardest (training) block I’ve done in my life,” he said.
“We were doing up to 50km a week.
“I’ve never done that, so to do five weeks in a row and then stand up and race ... to get in that final and have a crack against them and to see where I was was really nice.”
The Olympic champion finished his Queensland visit with a training camp at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre, venue for the Commonwealth Games in April, and the swim team’s trials net month.
“To get as much experience as possible and learn the ins and outs of the pool and come up here and have a week training, we’re at a huge advantage being able to see what’s gong on,” he said.