Chalmers to miss titles with heart worry

RIO Olympics 100m freestyle gold medallist Kyle Chalmers has withdrawn from July’s world swimming championships to undergo surgery for a worsening heart condition.

Chalmers has supraventricular tachycardia, or recurrent rapid heartbeat, that is normally not life- threatening but can impact on his quality of life.

“I have increasingly begun to suffer from an abnormally fast heart rhythm during training and competitions, which now requires surgery,” he said in a statement yesterday. “I have had surgery in the past and, unfortunately, it did not work.”

The 18- year- old Chalmers said it was a difficult decision to miss the world championships in Budapest, but he did so with a longer- term view, setting his sights on the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018.

Chalmers will have the heart operation within the next several weeks.