James Magnussen: Kyle Chalmers’ semi-final swim has him primed for gold in Paris Olympics 100m final

Three years ago Kyle Chalmers hurt his chances of defending his Olympic gold medal before the final had even begun. In Paris, he’s put himself in prime position, writes JAMES MAGNUSSEN.

This beckons as the race of Kyle Chalmers’s life.

It may be his last Olympic 100m final and it also may be the most important.

To win a medal at three Olympics is something only Alexander Popov has been able to achieve in sprint freestyle. It is a rare achievement.

That semi-final was a perfect start for Chalmers in his Olympic gold pursuit.

In Tokyo he tried to do it from an outside lane which ultimately cost him the gold medal, not being able to see Caeleb Dressel.

We know Kyle is the ultimate racer, and if he’s within an arm’s length of either Pan Zhanle or David Popovici come that last 25m the whole of Australia will be on its feet backing Kyle to win gold.

It is incredible that this is his third Olympic final and to see how much he has improved even since the last Olympics in Tokyo.

His skills are much improved, especially his underwater work on the turn. You can see he goes a bit deeper to get a bit of extra distance and avoid more of the wash off the turn.

His first 50m is quicker than it’s ever been before.

In the final he just needs to get out, sit on the hip of Pan and then use that power, that racing experience and that last 25m to finish over the top of him and ultimately win the gold medal.

Make no mistake, this final will be the event of the night.

Kyle Chalmers finished second to Caeleb Dressel in Tokyo after swimming from an outside lane. Picture: Alex Coppel.

French hero Leon Marchand might be racing for two gold medals, and the La Defense Arena will be rocking, but the program finishes with the 100m freestyle final and everyone at the pool always stops to watch that race.

The tension in the stadium will be insane, you’ll be able to cut the air with a knife when the pool empties in that warm up area and there’s only eight swimmers left for the final.

That’s when the mind games really begin.

We saw Pan say tonight that Kyle was his hero and he looked up to him as a swimmer.

Now’s the time for Kyle to flex those muscles, show he’s the man and to take his rightful place on top of that podium for the men’s 100m freestyle.

Originally published as James Magnussen: Kyle Chalmers’ semi-final swim has him primed for gold in Paris Olympics 100m final