SA Olympic hero Kyle Chalmers’ tough road back to Tokyo 100m freestyle nailbiter
Just months ago he could barely lift his arm. Now those closest to Kyle Chalmers reveal how he made it back for one of the closest finishes in Olympic swimming history.
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On Thursday Kyle Chalmers swam one of the closest, thrilling, well-planned races of his life to claim a silver Olympic medal in the men’s 100m freestyle.
But some seven months earlier, the 23-year-old could barely lift his left arm.
In late November last year he underwent arthroscopic surgery which removed a bursa and scar tissue from his left shoulder.
In recovery, he was forced to spend five weeks out of the water.
Among the coaches helping the 2016 Olympic champion through that tough time was Craig Stewart, assistant to legendary South Australia Sports Institute coach Peter Bishop.
By January, there was no denying that the Rio gold medallist was in an out-of-the-water race against himself to try to defend his Olympic title in Tokyo.
“It was always a race against time to see if we could get him back to full strength in time to do what he needs to do,” Stewart says.
“We always knew he’d be up and about enough to at least make the Olympic team, but Kyle being Kyle, he’s very focused and has very high expectations of himself and (being up and about enough to at least make the team) was never going to be enough for him.”
In the months following surgery, Chalmers proved himself to be the meticulous, dedicated athlete he is: when he couldn’t get in the pool, he did a lot of running and a lot of cycle work to keep fitness.
When he finally made it back into the water, he had to start slowly with lots of kicking and single arm swimming.
“He had to start a long way back,” Stewart says.
“He had a bit of atrophy in the shoulder, which he had to rebuild. His range of movement was a challenge, but we all knew that from the get-go.
“Once it was agreed that he’d have the surgery, we understood what the process was going to be and we had to be patient with him and he had to be patient and set realistic goals.
“(Managing his) frustration has been the key thing, but (the injury) didn’t slow down his determination or will to compete at all.”
Stewart says the fact Chalmers has also undergone three heart surgeries meant he knew he could come back.
And it all paid off.
In Thursday’s race, Chalmers’ time of 47.08 seconds equalled his personal best and was half a second quicker than the time which won him the gold in Rio five years ago.
He finished a mere 0.06 seconds behind American Caeleb Dressel’s winning time of 47.02.
His return from shoulder surgery doesn’t surprise Chalmers’ former high school principal, Kevin Richardson, who is still head of Immanuel College.
Richardson has known Kyle since he was 10 and competing in swimming competitions against his own son.
When he arrived at Immanuel, Richardson was impressed with the talented swimmer who was also quite academic and managed to complete his Year 12 studies and achieve his ATAR in the same year as he won Olympic gold.
“He was a fairly quiet kid, and had a strong group of friends,” Richardson recalls.
“He had a strong sense of decency and sportsmanship, so he was never one of those athletes that was just out to smash everyone into the ground. And to this day, he never wants a fuss.”
What has always impressed Richardson is Chalmers’ willingness to make the sacrifices necessary for success, which saw him “following a black line up and down the pool” day after day.
“From a young age, he had the ability, but it’s that absolute commitment and determination to do the training, to do the work, to ride the ups and down and he’s had to sustain that commitment from a young age.”
Now it’s Stewart who sees that Chalmers determination on a day-to-day basis.
“Complacency isn’t even in his vocabulary,” Stewart says.
“That hunger I see in him every day and his attention to detail is incredible as well as his swimming intelligence, in terms of his feel, his ability to adapt and make change, and be a part of the process is a huge thing for him.”
Former Crows ruckman Sam Jacobs has known Chalmers for about five years, the two becoming friends when Chalmers moved in next-door.
He might no longer live next-door (Chalmers has moved about 500m away in Glenelg), but they still hang out regularly and their families have become close, even holidaying together.
When Jacobs played his first game for the Ardrossan Kangaroos earlier this year in the Yorke Peninsula footy league after a 12-year AFL career, Chalmers jumped in his car and drove two hours to Kadina just to support his mate.
Jacobs says Chalmers has achieved a fantastic balance away from the pool, which helps his success.
He is a lover of reptiles and has a solid group of mates from Adelaide’s reptile community.
He is a lover of basketball and has recently joined an online fantasy basketball league that Jacobs manages, and includes former Crows Hugh Greenwood, and Bryce Gibbs.
“We spent a lot of time talking fantasy basketball and trades and that sort of stuff … I think it’s a good escape for him to unwind,” he says.
Then there’s Chalmers’ love of football. He’s an ambassador for his beloved Port Adelaide Football Club, and there are always rumours about the possibility he might pull on the boots as a category B rookie one day.
Richardson says Chalmers – like his father Brett, who played for both South Australian AFL clubs – is genuinely a talented footballer.
He recalls an instance when Chalmers’ love of footy came at a crossroads with his love of swimming.
“He played a game (for Immanuel’s First XVIII) against another school when his dad was coaching in 2016, the year of the Olympics,” Richardson recalls.
“He played an outstanding first quarter, I think he kicked something like three goals in 15 minutes.
“But then, unfortunately, he cracked his wrist and the national swim coach said: ‘It is now time to decide’.”
Needless to say Chalmers didn’t play First XVIII again.
But the Aussie coaches couldn’t stop him for competing for Immanuel College in school competitions.
In fact, Chalmers was still competing for his school house in the college’s swimming carnival in the same year as he won Olympic gold.
Was he a standout in that 2016 carnival?
“Let’s say, Kyle’s records may take a little while to be beaten,” Richardson says with a laugh.
After winning silver on Thursday, Chalmers spoke graciously and gratefully from poolside, thanking his large support crew, family and friends. He talked about how important the support of his grandparents had been, and that of his mother, Jodie, watching back in Adelaide.
“I did everything in my power to win … I left absolutely everything in the pool,” he said.
Listening to those words were the players and coaches of the Port Adelaide Football Club, of which Chalmers is an ambassador.
With the Power in a footy bubble in Melbourne the team gathered together in a conference room in their hotel and watched the race.
Captain Tom Jonas says there was silence after the close finish of the race.
“But then we tuned in to listen to what he had to say and I think the way he spoke showed great humility,” Jonas says.
“He’s just a great young man, he’s humble, hardworking, he’s professional.”
The players are now looking forward to catching up with their club ambassador when he returns – and maybe having a kick of the footy with him too.
Jodie couldn’t hide her pride at her son’s achievement.
“We are astounded by his drive and determination and love him very much,” she said.
“There have been some challenges that he has had to overcome and he has done it with incredible resilience.
“He is a true champion.”
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