{"id":593543,"date":"2024-07-31T18:48:28","date_gmt":"2024-08-01T01:48:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=593543"},"modified":"2024-08-01T02:00:33","modified_gmt":"2024-08-01T09:00:33","slug":"paris-olympics-day-5-silver-lining-for-olympic-champions-kyle-chalmers-and-zac-stubblety-cook-on-a-roller-coaster-day-for-aussies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/paris-olympics-day-5-silver-lining-for-olympic-champions-kyle-chalmers-and-zac-stubblety-cook-on-a-roller-coaster-day-for-aussies\/","title":{"rendered":"Paris Olympics Day 5: Silver Lining for Olympic Champions Kyle Chalmers and Zac Stubblety-Cook on a Roller Coaster Day For Aussies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paris Olympics Day 5: Silver Lining for Olympic Champions Kyle Chalmers and Zac Stubblety-Cook on a Roller Coaster Day For Aussies<\/strong><\/p>\n

The roller coaster that is the Olympic Games was in full swing on a dramatic fifth day of competition for Australia in the pool at the Paris La Defense Arena.<\/p>\n

A silver lining for Olympic champions Kyle Chalmers<\/strong> and Zac<\/strong> Stubblety-Cook<\/strong> \u2013 Chalmers claiming a rare third medal from three consecutive Olympic 100m freestyle finals \u2013 beaten by a Chinese young gun Pan Zhanle<\/strong>\u00a0who he had inspired as an 11-year-old and who obliterated the world record with a chart-topping 46.40 on his way to the gold.<\/p>\n

Chalmers had been forced to switch coaches and States earlier this year, leaving his beloved South Australia and twitching to a new training base on Queensland\u2019s Sunshine Coast under close friend and emerging coach Ashley<\/strong> Delaney<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Kyle Chalmers of Australia stands with the silver medal after competing in the swimming 100m Freestyle Men Final during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at La Defense Arena in Paris (France), July 31, 2024.<\/p><\/div>\n

Before suffering back spasms in the lead up to the Australian Trials \u2013 requiring cortisone injections to get him onto and off the blocks \u2013 unable to dive.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cIt sure has been a roller coast of a year as it so often is and being one of the older guys in the race now, I stayed calm, stuck to my race plan and to come away with a silver medal is something I\u2019m going to remember forever,\u201d said Chalmers.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd to be on the podium for three consecutive times is something I\u2019m going to be very, very proud of and something no one can ever take away from me.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis race does mean a lot to me; it is really special and coming in and having three guys with faster pbs than me and being able to stay controlled and calm and know that the pressure and expectations are on me.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019m really, really stoked with that\u2026it\u2019s amazing and I\u2019m very, very honoured\u2026.it means so much and at the backend of my career.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Rio in 2016 for my first Games I was very young and na\u00efve as to what it meant to be an Olympian or to be an Olympic champion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to work so hard and go through so much to get to Tokyo and to come away with silver there, that\u2019s probably the highlight of my swimming career and then to back it up again this year; it\u2019s so special to be an Olympian and to be recognized as an Olympic champion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chalmers joining an exclusive club with two 100m freestyle legends in Alexander Popov<\/strong> (Russia) and Duke Kahanamoku<\/strong> (USA) to medal in three consecutive finals of swimming\u2019s blue ribband event, with Popov winning gold in 1992, 1996 and silver in 2000 and Hawaiian waterman Kahanamoku winning back-to-back gold in 1912 and 1920 and silver to the great Johnny Weissmuller<\/strong> of Tarzan fame in Paris 100 years ago in 1924, who would defend his crown in 1928.<\/p>\n

While defending 200m breaststroke champion, Stubblety-Cook, as hard as he pushed was unable to catch home-town hero Leon Marchand<\/strong> as a sea of a French tricolored blue, white and red flags and painted faces swamped a new superstar of the sport.<\/p>\n

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Kyle Chalmers \u2018Trusts\u2019 Pan Zhanle World Record: \u2018He Deserves that Gold Medal\u2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n