{"id":462280,"date":"2021-02-16T02:19:52","date_gmt":"2021-02-16T09:19:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=462280"},"modified":"2021-06-10T15:10:15","modified_gmt":"2021-06-10T22:10:15","slug":"kyle-chalmers-visualises-tokyo-gold-to-put-myself-in-that-position-where-i-believe-i-can-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/kyle-chalmers-visualises-tokyo-gold-to-put-myself-in-that-position-where-i-believe-i-can-win\/","title":{"rendered":"Kyle Chalmers Visualizes Tokyo Gold: “…..To Put Myself In That Position Where I Believe I Can Win”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Operations, injuries and a postponed Olympics has only made Olympic 100m freestyle champion Kyle Chalmers<\/strong> hungrier than ever to defend his gold medal in Tokyo this year.<\/p>\n

Chalmers, still only 22, has used visualisation methods to picture himself winning gold again in Tokyo and becoming only the seventh Australian to defend an Olympic title in the pool.<\/p>\n

Visualising touching the wall ahead of America\u2019s two-time 100m freestyle world champion and good mate and Olympic favourite Caeleb Dressel.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOver these last 12 months, I have used racing (the 100m freestyle final) as a bit of motivation,\u201d Kyle Chalmers has revealed.<\/p>\n

\"NEC

GRAND CHANCELLORS: Olympic golden boys Kyle Chalmers and Ian Thorpe chilling out in the Grandstand on the Gold Coast during the Australian National Event Camp. Thorpe and members of the men’s 4x100m freestyle team from Sydney 2000 had addressed \u00a0the 60-strong group the night before. Photo Courtesy Delly Carr (Swimming Australia).<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIt has been quite challenging with the Games getting cancelled, my shoulder injury (and subsequent operation 12 weeks ago) and not being able to swim.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo 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\u2019t been able to actually swim with my arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cVisualisation has been a massive part of my training this last period. Imagining myself swimming while I\u2019m kicking along, creating that muscle memory, so it has been good. I think it is a really important area to tap into.\u201d<\/p>\n

And when asked if he visualised winning Chalmers<\/a> was quick to reply: \u201cWell, you\u2019ve got to believe that, otherwise there is no point in competing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think for me, I\u2019m not going to stand behind the blocks if I don\u2019t believe I can win so I need to put myself in that position where I believe I can win and have that full confidence in myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Kyle Chalmers is certainly one to turn a negative into a positive \u2013 and adding even more power to his already powerhouse in-built outboard motor.<\/p>\n

\"Kyle

GREEN IS GO: Kyle Chalmers limbers up before hitting the pool on the Gold Coast. Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr (Swimming Australia).<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cMy kick has definitely improved which is a great thing for me because my kick has always been a weaker point,\u201d said Chalmers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt might look like I have a powerful kick when I\u2019m 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

And when will we see him back racing again?<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that my racing has to be done in June at the Olympic trials (in Adelaide) and then in July at the Olympic Games…. but hopefully I\u2019ll be back in the water at NSW State Championships in March.\u201d said Chalmers.<\/p>\n

\"KYLE

SCREEN SAVER: “Isn’t that’s what mates are for…” Tommy Fraser-Holmes applies sunscreen to Kyle Chalmers on the Gold Coast. Photo Courtesy: Hanson Media.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI still have not got that full range and strength back. I spent the whole entire year kicking so I have lost my muscles through my shoulder.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t give me all that much pain. There are a few strokes that hurt and pinch which frustrate me but I think I could have got through 100m freestyle, 60m underwater and a bit of swimming (in the Short Course Relay Blitz Meet in the National Event Camp last week).\u201d<\/p>\n

Since Chalmers became Australia\u2019s fourth man (joining Jon Henricks<\/strong> in 1956; John Devitt<\/strong> in 1960 and Mike Wenden<\/strong> in 1968) to win the coveted blue ribband 100m freestyle<\/a> in Rio in 2016, it has not been a smooth road for the man they call \u201cThe Big Tuna.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chalmers has undergone two operations for a heart condition known as supraventricular tachycardia – an abnormally fast heart rhythm, suffered during training and competitions \u2013 forcing him out of the 2017 World Championships in Budapest.<\/p>\n

He returned in 2019 to stage a thrilling battle with Dressel \u2013 finishing second to the American and their duel in Tokyo will be one of the major highlights as the world\u2019s two major swimming powers go head-to-head.<\/p>\n

Chalmers was in superb form in Sydney last March at the NSW Championships on the eve of the COVID crisis \u2013 and that was the last time he actually swam in an individual race.<\/p>\n

And after an off-season in Adelaide, interrupted by lockdowns, there was another hiccup \u2013 the shoulder surgery some 12 weeks ago.<\/p>\n

(Although two weeks prior he did comeback to split 48.55 (fly start) for his club Marion in the 4x100m freestyle relay at the South Australian State Championships).<\/p>\n

\n

As Kyle Chalmers Makes Return From Shoulder Surgery, Kaylee McKeown Blazes 58.69 in 100 Back<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n