The dreaded “wall” had been reached.
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Kyle Chalmers: under fire for being “weak on the dais”. That part of the race is his office, his playground.
The 18-year-old was seventh at the 50m mark but mounted a stunning final-length swim to snatch gold in swimming’s blue-riband event. It meant he knew he was about to win. “I know that we’ve been beaten a few times”.
“I don’t want to stand here being the guy rolling off excuses, McEvoy said”.
Kazakhstan’s Dmitriy Balandin celebrates after winning the gold medal in the men’s 200-meter breaststroke final during the swimming competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
For Australia, a country known more for its distance freestylers, Chalmers became the 100 free champion since Michael Wenden at Mexico City in 1968.
The Olympic debutant from Adelaide upstaged world No.1 and teammate Cameron McEvoy who finished seventh in 48.12.
In glorious hindsight, it shouldn’t have arrived as such a shock. The Australian’s start was typically strong, if slower than her first lap in the semi-final, and she led by nearly half a second at the 100m mark. It’s hard to believe they’re real.
He wasn’t in the frame in the first 50 metres, but bit by bit the powerfully built 194cm, 90kg Chalmers surged through the field to grab gold. “My jaw dropped and I was that excited and nervous about it”. Australia’s team manager even got Durant to record a special message for Chalmers prior to his 100-meter freestyle final.
“I’ve had so much fun …” “I was very surprised with my final position”.
Chalmers broke his first national age record in 2012, in the 13-and-under 100m freestyle. He stumbled into swimming only when he chose to participate in a school swimming carnival “for fun”.
Beyond the pool, Japanese star Kohei Uchimura underscored his gymnastics dominance as he clinched a second straight all-around gold medal.
Chalmers, the son of former Australian Rules player Brett, had until recently harboured a dream of following his father into the indigenous Australian football code, but was forced to choose between the sports past year when injuries piled up.
“Six months before worlds (FINA World Championships) a year ago I cracked a bone in my wrist and did the ligaments in my ankle”.
And, get this, it’s an Australian.
“His world has changed from now on”, Australian swimming’s head coach Jacco Verhaeren said on Thursday.
“And I’m happy he chose the second one”. “I made the decision to be a swimmer but there’s no regrets now, none at all”.
“He is someone who I’ve looked up to my whole life”, said the teenager. “Although it was pretty daunting, I loved every second of it”. “And lots of other things”.
The lofty comparisons won’t stop at Thorpe.
You have to wonder: who was Chalmers rooting for?
McEvoy (L) congratulates Chalmers after the race. By 11:15pm on Wednesday night, it had dawned.
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The best part about Chalmers’ accomplishment?
