Kyle Chalmers talks openly on hitting rock bottom and his mental health recovery

Kyle Chalmers has had to step away from the pool multiple times with mental health issues in the past. But, now, he’s trying to do things differently. He opens up on the battle.

Kyle Chalmers before the Men's Open 100 LC Metre Freestyle

Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers hopes that going public with his mental health battles is helping ease the stigma for the next generation.

Chalmers took a break from the pool following trials for world championships and Commonwealth Games last year and said he was at “rock bottom” while in Birmingham after headlines focusing on his relationships and a perceived rift with former girlfriend Emma McKeon and teammate Cody Simpson.

Articulating his feelings was difficult but Chalmers hoped it could ease the way for others.

It may already have had that result, with champion English breaststroker Adam Peaty – a close friend of Chalmers’ – skipping the British championships to focus on his mental health ahead of the Paris Olympics.

Adam Peaty of Team Great Britain, competing here at the Tokyo Olympics, will skip this y ear’s world championships to focus on his mental health. Photo: Getty Images

“I’d like to hope so,” Chalmers said when asked whether talking leadership in talking about his own mental health publicly may have influenced others like Peaty.

“I’ve had to step away from the pool a couple of times with mental health problems and it’s something that’s not easy at all - especially for guys.

“But standing up and saying ‘This is how I’m actually feeling, these are the pressures that sport gives us’, hopefully makes it easier for the next generation coming through.”

Peaty, an Olympic champion and world record-holder and one of the biggest names in swimming, made his disclosure on Instagram last month.

“Everyone wants to sit in your seat until they have to sit in your seat... very few people understand what winning and success does to an individual’s mental health. They don’t understand the pressures these individual’s put on themselves, to win over and over again,” he said in a post.

“As some people may know, I’ve struggled with my mental health over the last few years and I think it’s important to be honest about it. I’m tired, I’m not myself and I’m not enjoying the sport as I have done for the last decade.”

Chalmers revealed the pair had had several conversations about mental health when the breaststroke champ was in Australia training over the summer.

“Someone like Peaty, who is one of my best mates, who I’ve ridden the highs and lows with since 2016, for him to come out and spend Christmas with me – he actually had Christmas back home in Port Lincoln with me – and being able to talk about those challenges was probably not only good for him, but really good for me too,” Chalmers said.

“We’re all humans at the end of the day. We all face the same problems everyone does.

“And mental health plays a major part in our everyday lives and I have been impacted by it massively over my career and I know there’s so many people that also that probably suffer in silence a little bit.

“So if I can make the stigma a little bit easier and pave the way for the next generation coming through, then I think I’ve done my job in the sport.”

Largely over the shoulder issues that have plagued him since 2020, requiring two surgeries due to the pain that plagued his every move, the Rio Olympic champion is in the best shape he has been - mentally and physically - for years.

Kyle Chalmers at his lowest ebb at the Commonwealth Games last year. He hopes speaking out about his mental health battlew will help other athletes. Photo: Getty Images

“I’m loving life. I’m labouring on a building site a couple of days a week, I’ve bought a fishing boat and I’m doing a lot of fishing - just doing things I like to do,” he said.

“I’ve reconnected with a lot of my mates that I’ve probably pushed aside to really focus on my swimming over the years.

“I’ve made sure a priority for me is just trying to be a normal person first and then swimming kind of comes second a little bit at the moment.

“And it’s making my results in and out of the pool a whole lot better.”

After rounding out his Australian championship program on the Gold Coast on Thursday night with a win in the 100m freestyle in a respectable 48.00, Chalmers has headed back to Adelaide to prepare for the world championship trials in Melbourne in June.

Originally published as Kyle Chalmers talks openly on hitting rock bottom and his mental health recovery