Australian Trials: Kyle Chalmers Returns From The Brink Of Retirement To Forge A Smarter Future toward LA And Brisbane
Kyle Chalmers will unleash his new lease of life and in his own backyard when the 2025 Australian Swimming Trials get underway tomorrow, Monday (June 9) at the SA Aquatic And Leisure Centre in Adelaide.
An Adelaide boy through and through, the 2016 Olympic and 2023 world champion, has spoken about his rejuvenation in the sport that may even see him swimming not only to his fourth Games in LA in 2028 but a fifth home Olympics in Brisbane in 2032.
Chalmers was the star attraction on the eve of the six-day Trials when the media turned out to catch up with one of the biggest names in Australian swimming.
The 26-year-old revealing he has even surprised himself that he is not retired from the sport by now.
The powerhouse sprinter who has won a gold and two silvers in the last three Olympic 100m freestyle finals said he did not think he would return to the pool after last Christmas.
“I had my…..break and honestly, I thought I wouldn’t come back after Christmas,” Chalmers told Australian Associated Press and as reported by the ABC.
“The only reason I got back in the pool was because we had some Japanese swimmers coming to train with us, and also Matt Wilson was coming from NSW to train with me for a few days.
“So, I felt I owed it to them to be at training because they had come to train with me.
“And then I came back and just absolutely loved it.
“I’m not associated with … a high-performance program. I’m there with people that are paying to be there, they love swimming.”
Chalmers has teamed up with Marion Swimming Club head coach Shaun Curtis and Adelaide-based sports physiologist Jamie Stanley, saying he has halved his training load and has swapped training harder for swimming smarter, adding running and cycling.
“It’s a bit of a gamble changing what I know works,” Chalmers told AAP.
“I have done the same thing for the last 13 years, so to actually change so much is a bit of a risk.
“It’s not about training harder; it’s about training smarter … it’s very different to what anyone else is doing because it’s based around two other sports that are very different to swimming.”
Chalmers will contest three events – his favoured 100m freestyle and the 50 freestyle and butterfly – one of the new additions to the 2028 program that may well keep him in the sport for a crack at a fifth Olympics in Brisbane.
After the conclusion of the US Nationals, Chalmers time of 47.27, swum in Norway in April, is his fourth-fastest time ever and quickest outside of major meets – ranking him third on the current world rankings behind newly-crowned US champion Jack Alexy (46.99) and Brazilian, Guilherme Caribe Santos (47.10).
He has also clocked personal best times of 21.78 (13th in the world), in the 50m freestyle and 22.89 (fifth in the world) in the 50m butterfly.
Chalmers will meet Paris Olympic 50m champion and long-time sparring partner Cam McEvoy (Somerville House, QLD; Coach Tim Lane) in both 50 events – with McEvoy (21.48) ranked fourth in the world behind Alexy (21.36) in the free and 12th in the 50m fly.
While in the 100m freestyle, Queensland and Australian Open champion Jamie Jack (St Peters Western, QLD; Coach Dean Boxall) is the next best current world ranked Australian in 48.27 (24th).
Chalmers will be vying for his fifth World Championship team in Singapore; while McEvoy will be in the hunt for his seventh and Jack, the younger brother of Paris Olympic gold medallist Shayna, his first, after the disappointment in mssing the Paris Games.
