Seven Years After Olympic Gold, Kyle Chalmers On the Hunt in 100 Freestyle

Kyle Chalmers -- Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr (Swimming Australia)

Seven Years After Olympic Gold, Kyle Chalmers On the Hunt in 100 Freestyle

Almost seven years ago, in one of the shocking moments of the Rio Olympics, the youngest swimmer in the 100 freestyle Olympic final snatched away the gold medal with a stunning second length. Flipping second-to-last at the halfway point, Kyle Chalmers covered the return trip in 24.44 — for context, only two other men were under 25, with 24.84 the second-best split — to steal the title. Chalmers’ time was 47.58, then a world junior record, and the swimmers he beat included defending champion Nathan Adrian, Australian countryman Cameron McEvoy and future star Caeleb Dressel.

It was clear that night in Brazil that Chalmers had a bright future ahead of him in the blue-ribband event, and that has come to fruition, with numerous medals across the World Championships, Commonwealth Games, Pan Pacific Championships and Tokyo Olympics. However, the one knock is that Chalmers has yet to reclaim the top step of the podium in an individual event at a full-international long course meet. He came within 12 hundredths of Dressel at the 2019 World Championships.

Two years in Tokyo, Chalmers again flashed that brilliant closing speed, but Dressel dug just deep enough to hold off the Australian, this time by six hundredths. Months later, though, Chalmers achieved the first and only individual world record of his career, knocking off Amaury Leveaux’s 13-year-old short course world record in the 100 free.

In 2022, Chalmers skipped the individual 100 free at the World Championships, but he did uncork a series of rapid relay splits in Budapest, anchoring Australia to silver in the men’s 400 free relay and helping produce a world record in the mixed 400 free relay. The Commonwealth Games brought four medals, including 100 free gold plus three relay honors, and in December, racing with home-country advantage at the Short Course World Championships in Melbourne, Chalmers scored gold in the 100 free plus six relay medals, including two gold.

Now, two months away from his 25th birthday, Chalmers faces his toughest challenge as he attempts to claim the only 100 free gold medal that has eluded him: the long course world title. The obstacle he faces is David Popovici, who broke a 13-year-old world record in the event at last summer’s European Championships. At the time of his signature swim, Popovici was even younger than Chalmers was when he won Olympic gold. Chalmers built his legacy on second-lap excellence, but Popovici has taken finishing speed to an extreme: in his historic performance, he was out in 22.74 and home in a crazy 24.12.

It seems unlikely that anyone can match up with Popovici when the world’s best gather in July in Fukuoka, Japan, but of his competitors, the one with the best chance of staying close is Chalmers, whose time of 48.00 at the Australian Championships moved him into a tie for sixth in the world so far this year. With Dressel having not raced since last June, Chalmers has the most big-race experience of any top 100 freestyler, and his best time of 47.08 (achieved in 2019 and again in 2021) is much faster than the other main rivals to Popovici. The men who joined the Romanian on the World Championships podium last year, France’s Maxime Grousset and Canada’s Josh Liendo, both have 47-mid best times.

Even as he has just missed out on important gold medals in recent years, Chalmers has been in the big spots so many times and come through. His relay skills are unrivaled among his contemporaries, with plenty of anchor legs having pulled Australia from out of the mix into a podium spot, and he has never exited an international 100 free final without a medal. In the Fukuoka final, Chalmers might be experiencing the same feeling so many of his rivals have felt over the years, knowing that an early lead is vulnerable with Popovici in pursuit.

If Chalmers somehow can overcome the teenage world-record holder and complete the career golden sweep, it would be the biggest win of his career, more impressive than his initial race for Olympic gold during his own teenage years. And in the more likely scenario that Chalmers ends with silver or bronze, he will still deserve plenty of credit for his tenacity, longevity and continued presence among the elite in one of the sport’s signature races.

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Greg

1 year ago

It’s a sprint race! Anyone good enough to be in the final can win.