Is that really Kyle Chalmers who just kicked that goal? Superfish pulls on footy boots in Adelaide
FANS at a suburban Adelaide footy match could have been forgiven for doing a double-take as Olympic gold medal swimmer Kyle Chalmers lined up to kick a goal. Here’s where you needed to be.
IT is not every day an Olympic gold medallist plays a game of local football.
But Glenelg North superfish Kyle Chalmers has slid under the radar to line up alongside his younger brother, Jackson, for PHOS Camden’s under-18s.
Kyle, who won one gold and two bronze medals at last year’s Rio Olympics, kicked a goal playing up forward in the Phantoms’ recent 49-point victory over Edwardstown at Camden Oval.
He pulled on the boots for the Phantoms again on Sunday, booting four goals in the side’s 88-point win over Flinders Park at Camden Oval and was named second-best on ground.
PHOS under-18 coach Richard Resnais learnt that Kyle — the son of former Port and Crows big man Brett Chalmers — wanted to take to the field with Jackson and other Immanuel College friends about a week before the first game, played on April 30.
After the victory, teammates drenched Kyle with sports drinks as they encircled him and belted out the club song.
“They’re good mates of his, some of the guys that play, and they just enjoyed playing footy with him,” Resnais said.
“They don’t make a big deal of it and Kyle’s not a big head, he’s just a very level-headed kid and a great bloke.
“They just went out and had a kick with their mate and that’s all it was about really.
“He played all right and enjoyed having a game with his mates.”
Kyle, 18, grew up playing football in his hometown of Port Lincoln for Lincoln South.
The Power supporter joined Immanuel and Glenelg after the family moved to Adelaide in 2011, but his swimming training got in the way of him playing for the Tigers’ under-16s.
He cracked a wrist bone and tore ankle ligaments in a school football game two months before the 2015 world titles, leading him to stop playing to concentrate on swimming.
But Kyle still kicks a footy to himself as part of his pre-race ritual.
Resnais described the 194cm Marion swimmer as a handy footballer.
“I coached him in Year 10 at Immanuel and he was good then, had good skills and looks quite natural,” he said.
Edwardstown under-18s captain Ben Homburg found out on the day that Kyle would be playing for the Phantoms and stood him for most of the game.
He said the 194cm Marion swimmer’s nine-centimetre height advantage and athleticism presented a challenge.
“It was a pretty big shock (to see him playing) at first, but you try not to get caught up in it all,” Homburg said.
“There was a bit of hype in the change rooms.
“He’s really fit and was running around all game. He’s really tall and was crashing packs.”
Edwardstown under-18 coach Darren Holyoak said “you could see glimpses” of Brett in Kyle’s game.
Kyle’s debut for the Phantoms came a fortnight after he finished second in the 100m and 200m freestyle at the national trials in Brisbane.
Those results ensured he qualified for July’s world titles in Budapest, Hungary.
PHOS Camden officials were unsure if Kyle would want to play another game for the club.
Kyle and Brett declined to comment on the match.