Olympics 2024: Kyle Chalmers breaks silence after coach banned from Paris Games

Kyle Chalmers has vowed nothing will stop him from being ready for the biggest challenge of his swimming career, even after long time coach Peter Bishop was banned from the Paris Olympics.

Kyle Chalmers says nothing will stop him from being ready for the Paris Olympics. Photo: Instagram / Supplied

Kyle Chalmers has vowed that nothing will stop him from being ready for the biggest challenge of his swimming career, even after his long time coach Peter Bishop was banned from joining him at this year’s Paris Olympics.

Speaking publicly for the first time since the announcement that Bishop’s coaching accreditation had been revoked following an investigation by the South Australian Sports Institute, Chalmers said it was business as usual for him.

“I’m just getting ready for Paris. The Olympic Games is a very easy thing to be motivated and stay focussed on,” said Chalmers at the NSW state championships on Friday.

“I’ve worked so hard to get to this point and sacrificed and overcome so much that I owe it to myself to have a really good Olympic preparation.

Asked whether he had decided who would replace Bishop as his new coach after his friend and mentor was reassigned to a new role away from the pool deck, ‘King Kyle’ kept his cards close to his chest.

Australian swim sensation Kyle Chalmers at the NSW State Championships. Picture: Emma Newton

“To be honest, I don’t think I’ll think much of it until after the Olympic Games,” he said.

“It’s too close for me to use my energy where it’s not needed at the moment.

“I need to just focus exactly on what I’m doing and what Peter has prepared me for to this point.

“We’ve been through some massive highs and lows together, and I’ve been able to overcome so many challenges in the past, and I’m just excited to be racing and doing what I love.”

Still in heavy training and unshaven, Chalmers finished a close second behind William Yang at the NSW titles on Friday but he is a master of getting it right when it matters.

The Olympic gold medallist at Rio in 2016 and the silver medallist at Tokyo, Chalmers is a big race performer who has won every major event in the sport after completing the set by claiming his first world title last year.

But Chalmers knows he also faces an enormous challenge in Paris against a stacked field that could include Tokyo winner Caeleb Dressel, Romanian sensation David Popovici and new world record holder, China’s Pan Zhanle.

But that’s just the way he likes it.

Kyle Chalmers is a big race performer who has won every major event in the sport. Picture: NCA NewsWire

“It puts me as the chaser again and I love being the chaser and the underdog,” he said.

“It gives me that motivation to work extra hard in training, knowing that there’s these guys swimming so fast from around the world.

“For me, I love being a part of a fast race, a stacked race. I want my race at the Olympic Games to be one that’s remembered forever.

“There’s so many guys in that race that could do amazing things. And I’m just excited to have the opportunity again to hopefully be in that Olympic final.

“Obviously it’s my third time around. I’ve been around for a long time now, so I’m doing everything I can and I feel I’ve got the wisdom to be able to get myself there.”

Meanwhile, some of Australia’s leading women swimmers were in great form on Friday, with Ariarne Titmus (800m freestyle), Kaylee McKeown (200m backstroke) and Mollie O’Callaghan (100m freestyle) all posting world-class times in winning their races.

Originally published as Olympics 2024: Kyle Chalmers breaks silence after coach banned from Paris Games