Chalmers plans to mix play with work
SWIMMING MOST of the Australian Dolphins have come into camp in Cairns with a steely eyed focus on training and preparing but 194cm powerhouse Kyle Chalmers is taking a more chilled approach.
The South Australian product says he will focus on his training block ahead of the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships but as soon as that is completed he is vacation mode.
“The camp is about coming together and getting rid of those distractions you would have at home like friends and family wanting to catch up and say congratulations and good luck,” Chalmers said.
“It is about eliminating those distractions and coming into a team environment.
“In saying that, I want to get away from swimming and the team environment as much as possible so I can relax and feel like I am on a holiday up here – do the training and live like we would normally live outside that.
“Hopefully I can enjoy Cairns as much as possible.”
Chalmers won four of his five disciplines on the Gold Coast earlier this year at the Commonwealth Games, including his first individual 200m title on the international stage, and said he was looking to build his speed up in the 100m freestyle ahead of the Pan Pacs in Japan.
“The first week of training will be hard here in Cairns. We have not done a whole lot as a group since the Pan Pacs trials,” Chalmers said.
“This week will be big and the second week we will drop down a bit and get ready for Tokyo.
“Hopefully we will be fresh and get ready to race then.
“I did not completely taper down for the Pan Pac trials. I have had a solid block of training since the Comm Games.
“I think I am going to be in good stead for Tokyo.”
Cairns will host up to six Australian Dolphins swim team training camps between 2018 and 2020.
Australian swim team director Jacco Verhaeren said the squad needed to come down from the high of dominating the Commonwealth Games and focus on the next task.
“Comm Games was very successful as well as an emotional high – they need to come down from that a bit, which is normal,” he said.
“High performance does not wait and we are ready for the big challenges in Japan.”
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“She’s probably got the most amount of weapons I’ve seen from a young player her age in women’s football,” Stajcic said.
“Even just listening to the lament of the Socceroos about our lack of a striker and finishing ability in Australian football, Mary is one of those people who we can hopefully hang our hat on down the track as she develops as a player. She’s certainly got that instinct for goal.”
Born to an Irish father and a Papua New Guinean mother, Fowler is part of a prodigiously talented football family that could provide Australia’s national teams with even more stars of the future.
Sister Ciara is also on the Young Matildas’ radar while her elder brother Quivi could make his senior debut this coming season.
When the family returned to Australia, Quivi signed in the NSW NPL with the Wollongong Wolves. But the 19year-old attacking midfielder has since signed a contract with Dutch second-tier outfit FC Dordrecht.
His move back to Europe has fuelled speculation that Mary and Ciara could be motivated to also look to Holland to further their careers.
Significantly, Quivi and Ciara have both represented Ireland at junior level.
Mary, too, is eligible for Ireland and will not be tied to the Matildas even if she features in the Tournament of Nations as it is only a friendly event.
When asked about future allegiances, her father said they would wait and see.
“The family is very close and we have been on this football journey for a few years together,” he said. “Quivi and Ciara have both represented Ireland at underage level so we will have to wait and see.”
I WANT TO GET AWAY FROM SWIMMING AND THE TEAM ENVIRONMENT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE SO I CAN RELAX AND FEEL LIKE I AM ON A HOLIDAY UP HERE