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Kyle CHALMERS
Sport Swimming
NOC Australia   
GenderMen
Born25 Jun 1998 in Adelaide, AUS
Height1.93 m
 Human Interest 
Further Personal Information
Residence
Adelaide, SA, AUS
Sport Specific Information
Club / Team
Marion Swimming Club: Adelaide, SA, AUS
General Interest
Hobbies
Photography, caring for his collection of reptiles, supporting Australian rules football team Port Adelaide. (Instagram profile, 15 May 2021; pickstar.pro.au, 01 Mar 2021)
Injuries
He missed the 2021 World Short Course Championships in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, due to a right shoulder injury. (swimswam.com, 08 Dec 2021)

In November 2020 he underwent left shoulder surgery to remove a bursa. He returned to competition in January 2021 at the South Australia state championships in Adelaide, South Australia. (insidethegames.biz, 01 Dec 2020; swimmingworldmagazine.com, 23 Jan 2021)

In May 2015 he broke his wrist and tore ankle ligaments playing Australian rules football for his school. He recovered in time to compete at the 2015 World Championships in Kazan, Russian Federation, and his swimming coaches banned him from playing the sport again. (smh.com.au, 04 Aug 2015)

He competed at the 2014 Australian Age Championships in Sydney, NSW, despite breaking a finger during Australian rules football training a few days before the event. (dailymail.co.uk, 15 May 2014)
Memorable sporting achievement
Winning a gold medal in the 100m freestyle at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (adelaidenow.com.au, 25 Jan 2017)
Famous relatives
His father Brett played Australian rules football in the Australian Football League [AFL] for the Adelaide and Port Adelaide clubs. (swimswam.com, 11 May 2018; olympic.org, 01 Jan 2018; rio2016.olympics.com.au, 10 Mar 2016)
Sport Specific Information
Why this sport?
"I grew up in a country town of about 13,000 people, eight hours away from any major city. So I played as much sport as I could as a kid. My dad was a professional Aussie [Australian] rules footballer, so I always wanted to follow in his footsteps. I played Aussie rules football, soccer, tennis, basketball, athletics, cricket, and then swimming was just another sport, really. I looked at it as an opportunity to be fit for my football, as I wanted to be an Aussie rules professional. I came across and ended up making the South Australian state swimming team. I realised that I was a handy swimmer and training started to pick up a little bit."
General Interest
Most influential person in career
His father. (rio2016.olympics.com.au, 10 Mar 2016)
Awards and honours
In 2018 he was named Oceania Male Swimmer of the Year by the website SwimSwam in its Swammy Awards. (swimswam.com, 01 Jan 2019)

In 2018 he received the Patron Award from Swimming Australia. (swimmingworldmagazine.com, 15 Nov 2018)

In 2017 he received the Medal of the Order of Australia [OAM] in the Australia Day Honours list. (adelaidenow.com.au, 25 Jan 2017)

In 2016 he was named Junior Male Swimmer of the Year and Oceania Male Swimmer of the Year at SwimSwam's Swammy Awards. (swimswam.com, 29 Dec 2016)

In 2016 he was named Male Athlete of the Year at the South Australian Sports Institute [SASI] Awards in Australia. (sasi.sa.gov.au, 20 Nov 2016)

In 2016 he received the Olympic Programme Swimmer of the Year award from Swimming Australia. (adelaidenow.com.au, 06 Nov 2016)

In 2015 he was named Swimming Athlete of the Year and Overall Junior Male Athlete of the Year at the SASI Awards in Australia. (sasi.sa.gov.au, 20 Nov 2015)
Sport Specific Information
Name of coach
Peter Bishop [club]; Rohan Taylor [national]
When and where did you begin this sport?
He took up swimming at age nine in South Australia, Australia.
Further Personal Information
Occupation
Athlete
Languages
English
General Interest
Other information
HEART CONDITION
He has suffered from supraventricular tachycardia [SVT], which causes an elevated heart rate. In 2019 he had a third operation to correct the condition, weeks after the world championships in Gwangju, Republic of Korea. "I could be sitting here right now and my heart rate could go up to 200 plus and I [could] get all dizzy and potentially black out. It was happening quite a lot when I was training and could potentially have happened when I was racing. So it was always a bit of a concern and something that I lived with for such a long period of time. The third surgery was in August 2019 and I haven't had a problem since [speaking in mid-2020]. It's a massive relief, and fingers crossed I don't have to think about it any more. I think it's helped me become a lot more grateful for what I have and the opportunities I have and get on a daily basis. It has helped me get a better understanding for life." (theguardian.com, 29 Jul 2021; olympicchannel.com, 02 May 2020; swimswam.com, 26 Aug 2019; abc.net.au, 25 Oct 2017; adelaidenow.com.au, 25 May 2017, 18 Mar 2016)

FRIENDLY RIVAL
He describes US swimmer Caeleb Dressel as a friend. Chalmers was denied consecutive Olympic gold medals in the 100m freestyle as Dressel claimed gold and he had to settle for silver at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. Chalmers also won silver behind Dressel in the same event at the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju, Republic of Korea. "He gets the big one this time [in Tokyo], I got him in Rio. If I'm going to lose to someone, I'm honoured to lose to Caeleb because he is such an amazing competitor. I am lucky to call him a friend, we do keep in touch. Let's hope it goes to round three in Paris [at the 2024 Olympic Games]." (swimmingworldmagazine.com, 18 Oct 2021; SwimSwam YouTube channel, 09 Aug 2021; theguardian.com, 29 Jul 2021; au.sports.yahoo.com, 29 Jul 2021; news.com.au, 29 Jul 2021)

VISUALISATION
In 2021 he said that during training he had visualised himself beating his friend and rival, US swimmer Caeleb Dressel, in the 100m freestyle. He said this had the benefit of exercising the muscle memory in his arms, which he could not train with for part of 2020 due to a left shoulder injury. "For me I need that motivation to push me through and Caeleb is obviously a great mate and a great competitor and I do visualise that race and I am visualising myself swimming, because obviously I haven't been able to actually swim with my arms. Visualisation has been a massive part of my training this last period. Imagining myself swimming while I'm kicking along, creating that muscle memory, it has been good. I think it is a really important area to tap into. My kick has definitely improved, which is a great thing for me, because my kick has always been a weaker point. It might look like I have a powerful kick when I'm racing but it is not overly strong, so for me to have to kick for that period of time, as hard as it was mentally to get through, I know that there have been benefits from doing it." (swimmingworldmagazine.com, 16 Feb 2021)
Ambitions
To win a gold medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. (swimswam.com, 08 Dec 2021)
Hero / Idol
Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe, US basketball player Kevin Durant. (gc2018.com, 01 Oct 2017)
Nicknames
Rayon, Ray, Big Tune (Facebook profile, 29 Mar 2020; swimmingworldmagazine.com, 21 Jan 2020)
Sport Specific Information
Training Regime
In 2021 he said he had been focusing on the technical aspects of his race - particularly his diving and turns. "If I can improve my dive and be within a fractional margin at 15 metres, I know my swim speed is my strength. For me, it's not necessarily being any faster on the way out, it's still swimming to my strengths. We're talking 0.01 of a second. At world champs, it was reaction time off the blocks. Skills aren't easy to improve but it's something I'm working on day-in, day-out and I know I can improve."
General Interest
Sporting philosophy / motto
"The Olympics is about elite swimmers preparing for an Olympic Games, and they are only ultimately concerned with one thing and that's being prepared to race and win. All the side benefits - the culture building, the team and bringing people together to build relationships - absolutely matter, but when you cut to the chase it's high performance. The focus and intensity of that moment when you are about to step out behind the blocks after four, six, eight, 10, 12 years of your life, dedicated to a single opportunity, a single moment in time and 50m of water in front and seven other warm bodies around you, that you are there to beat – the rest is noise and irrelevant." (swimmingworldmagazine.com, 16 Feb 2021)

 Competition Highlights
Olympic Games
Rank Year Venue Event Result
2 2021 Tokyo, JPN 100m Freestyle 47.08
3 2021 Tokyo, JPN 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:10.22
3 2021 Tokyo, JPN 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay 7:01.84
5 2021 Tokyo, JPN 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:29.60
1 2016 Rio de Janeiro, BRA 100m Freestyle 47.58
3 2016 Rio de Janeiro, BRA 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:11.37
3 2016 Rio de Janeiro, BRA 4 x 100m Medley Relay  
World Championships
Rank Year Venue Event Result
1 2023 Fukuoka, JPN 100m Freestyle 47.15
3 2023 Fukuoka, JPN 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay 7:02.13
1 2023 Fukuoka, JPN 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:10.16
1 2023 Fukuoka, JPN 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:18.83
Heats 2022 Budapest, HUN 100m Butterfly 52.70
4 2022 Budapest, HUN 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:31.81
2 2022 Budapest, HUN 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:10.80
1 2022 Budapest, HUN 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:19.38
Semifinal 2019 Gwangju, KOR 200m Freestyle 1:46.21
2 2019 Gwangju, KOR 100m Freestyle 47.08
1 2019 Gwangju, KOR 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay 7:00.85
5 2019 Gwangju, KOR 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:30.42
3 2019 Gwangju, KOR 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:11.22
2 2019 Gwangju, KOR 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:19.97
Heats 2015 Kazan, RUS 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:16.34
2 2015 Kazan, RUS 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:30.08
World Championships Short Course
Rank Year Venue Event Result
Heats 2022 Melbourne, VIC, AUS 200m Freestyle  DNS
7 2022 Melbourne, VIC, AUS 50m Freestyle 20.92
1 2022 Melbourne, VIC, AUS 100m Freestyle 45.16
2 2022 Melbourne, VIC, AUS 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay 1:28.03
1 2022 Melbourne, VIC, AUS 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay 1:23.44
2 2022 Melbourne, VIC, AUS 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:04.63
2 2022 Melbourne, VIC, AUS 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay 6:46.54
3 2022 Melbourne, VIC, AUS 4 x 50m Medley Relay 1:30.81
1 2022 Melbourne, VIC, AUS 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:18.98
World Cup
Rank Year Venue Event Result
1 2022 Berlin, GER 100m Freestyle 45.88
2 2022 Berlin, GER 50m Freestyle 21.04
2 2022 Berlin, GER 200m Freestyle 1:41.09
4 2022 Indianapolis, IN, USA 200m Freestyle 1:41.97
1 2022 Indianapolis, IN, USA 100m Freestyle 45.55
2 2022 Indianapolis, IN, USA 50m Freestyle 20.81
1 2022 Toronto, ON, CAN 100m Freestyle 45.52
3 2022 Toronto, ON, CAN 50m Freestyle 21.10
4 2022 Toronto, ON, CAN 50m Butterfly 22.67
4 2021   Overall Ranking  
1 2021 Berlin, GER 100m Freestyle 45.73
2 2021 Berlin, GER 200m Freestyle 1:40.82
1 2021 Berlin, GER 50m Freestyle 21.01
1 2021 Budapest, HUN 50m Freestyle 20.97
1 2021 Budapest, HUN 100m Freestyle 45.50
2 2021 Budapest, HUN 200m Freestyle 1:41.60
2 2021 Doha, QAT 50m Freestyle 21.02
1 2021 Doha, QAT 100m Freestyle 45.03
2 2021 Doha, QAT 50m Butterfly 22.24
1 2021 Kazan, RUS 100m Freestyle 44.84
1 2021 Kazan, RUS 50m Freestyle 20.68
3 2021 Kazan, RUS 50m Butterfly 22.33
17 2018   Overall Ranking  
2 2018 Singapore, SGP 200m Freestyle 1:41.50
3 2018 Singapore, SGP 50m Freestyle 21.06
2 2018 Singapore, SGP 100m Freestyle 45.54
1 2018 Singapore, SGP 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay 1:31.57
1 2018 Singapore, SGP 4 x 50m Medley Relay 1:39.69
1 2018 Tokyo, JPN 200m Freestyle 1:41.83
3 2018 Tokyo, JPN 50m Freestyle 21.09
2 2018 Tokyo, JPN 100m Freestyle 45.78
2 2018 Tokyo, JPN 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay 1:32.25
1 2018 Tokyo, JPN 4 x 50m Medley Relay 1:39.74
5 2017 Eindhoven, NED 100m Freestyle 47.24
2 2016 Singapore, SGP 100m Freestyle 46.61
6 2016 Singapore, SGP 100m Butterfly 53.55
1 2016 Singapore, SGP 200m Freestyle 1:42.67
1 2016 Singapore, SGP 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay 1:31.04
1 2016 Tokyo, JPN 100m Freestyle 46.12
1 2016 Tokyo, JPN 200m Freestyle 1:42.42