Kyle Chalmers, Aussie Prince Who Forced Abdication Of Sprint Kings, Begins His Reign

The Rio 2016 Olympics long gone, the Paralympics about to wave farewell to Rio, SwimVortex continues its look at the reflections of those who stepped up to the podium at the Games in August, at the things that flowed from success and he plans already made for the follow-up.

After the men’s 50m freestyle and Anthony Ervin, we turn from the oldest solo champion of all-time in the Olympic pool to the youngest winner among men in Rio: Kyle Chalmers, of Australia.

The men’s 100m freestyle had long been among the most anticiptaed finals for the Dolphins and their fans. Four years on from James Magnussen and silver by 0.01sec behind Adrian Nathan, could the nation finally be celebrating its first blue-ribband victory since Mike Wenden claimed the 100m and 200m crowns at Mexico 1968?

Yes, was the answer, but once again, it wasn’t to be for the 47-flat favourite. Instead of Cameron McEvoy (47.04, world textile best, at trials), it was Kyle Chalmers, 18, who spoke to the Gold in the Green by keeping Adrian at bay.

As Chalmers told us in Rio, he’d “just come to make the final, that was my goal …”. The goal achieved in semis, the towering teenager seized the day to become one of the youngest 100m champions among men in Olympic swimming history.

The clock stopped for Chalmers at a World Junior Record of 47.58, good for bronze at London 2012, good for gold at Rio 2016 courtesy of a brutally decisive 24.44 homecoming lap that swept the promise to the status he’d had in ind for Tokyo 2020. The history of sport is stacked with folk wo forced abdication, the young Australian’s carpe-diem moment a promotion from prince to king that guarantees him far more than the 15 minutes of fame Wharhol plucked out as the mean of common once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Silver to Belgium’s Peter Timmers (47.80), bronze to defending champion Adrian (USA), the Australian tipped to end the post-Wenden drought, McEvoy, seventh in 48.12 more than a second down on best. The decency of Dolphins followed. Chalmers showed maturity, style and presence as he waited for his shoalmate to climb out of the water so they could leave the stage together; and McEvoy, with a brightness of mind, heart and spirit, held aloft the teenager’s arm with one hand while pointing a finger at him with the other as he smiled up at teammates in the stand as if to say “here’s our hero, the man who delivered for us today”.

Cameron McEvoy by Steve Christo, courtesy of Swimming Australia Ltd

Kyle Chalmers by Patrick B. Kraemer

That McEvoy beam was as broad as it was geuine just at the very moment when that might have been the last thing he felt like doing. True character; deep understanding, of others, self and situation. We saw it again when Scandinavians Sarah Sjostrom and Jeanette Ottesen waited for Cate Campbell to climb out of the women’s 100m final in an act of empathy that spoke to the heart of Olympism in deed not convenient word.

Chalmers paid plaudits to McEvoy and Mitch Larkin when he said: “Those two, I’ve taken so much from them.”

“Cameron McEvoy has explained to me what it’s like racing internationally, about the food hall and what to expect in the village. Mitch told me about the village and his experiences in London and it just made me feel really comfortable.”

If Australia has serious questions to ask in order to fathom why quite so many golden chances were lost in Rio (and then avoid it happening again in such a stark way), then it also has a generation of athletes and those among who they have grown up and developed, as swimmers and people in the round, with no case to answer whatsoever when it came to how they handled themselves and the respect they showed to others. Hark the post-victory words of Chalmers, neck stuck firmly in, feet all but nailed to the floor:

“At the moment, it’s still sinking in for me that I’ve actually won. “So it’s very exciting. It’s hard being in this situation because I’ve been (racing) with a teammate (McEvoy) who’s looked after me all week and roomed with me. I don’t want to celebrate too much because I know it would have been really hard for him tonight, but I’m sure toward the end of the week I’ll be a little bit more excited.”

A maturity to match his 6ft 3 and 200 pounds, a delivery that confirmed the promise of a boy long associated with the prodigious talents of Ian Thorpe, who at 15 in Perth back in 1998 became the youngest male world champion in swimming history.

Thorpe was among those there to interview Chalmers when he got home after Rio, a living reminder for the 18-year-old who reached his goal four years ‘early’ and must now reset that learning curves never end.

Kyle Chalmers by Patrick B. Kraemer

Kyle Chalmers – last prep for Rio

The son of Brett Chalmers, a former player in the Australian Football League, Kyle suggested that he was not hung up on Wenden, droughts and the long thirst because he had never been a keen student of the history of his sport. Ignorant he is certainly not but a lack of knowledge can be a blessing sometimes, just as knowing too much might be a curse.

Having found himself an overnight household name back in 1968, Wenden offered the following advice to future champions:

“Seek advice about an appropriate business manager and maintain close contact with a psychologist.”

In 2016, Chalmers has …

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