Champion pair Chalmers and McKeon win their first individual World Championship gold medals
It was a lap for the ages. Less than 90 minutes after breaking his individual title hoodoo, Kyle Chalmers produced a ridiculous swim for secure Australia a shock gold.
The Aussie pool party is in full swing at the world short course championships with King Kyle leading the celebrations.
Less than 90 minutes after he won the individual 100m freestyle gold medal, Kyle Chalmers uncorked a lap for the ages to win gold for Australia in the men’s 4x50m freestyle relay.
When Chalmers dived in for the anchor leg after Isaac Cooper, Matt Temple and Flynn Southam had swum, he was in fifth.
With just two half-sized laps to go, he shouldn't have had a chance but that’s not how he rolls.
His closing split was a sizzling 20.34 seconds – but the numbers don’t give justice to what he did.
Chalmers was technically perfect. He nailed his dive, his underwater, his turn and then his finish.
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Whenever the big boys race, the margin between winning and losing is tiny but Chalmers has a will that few others so celebrated like he should.
The Dolphins are now on course for their biggest-ever medal haul at the short course world championships.
Halfway through the six-day meet, the Aussies have 15 medals, including eight golds.
Australia’s best at a short course world championships is 12 golds (in 2006), and 30 medals in total (2004).
In home waters, there’s nothing to stop them eclipsing those marks over the weekend.
Chalmers’ win came after the Aussie women won a silver in their 4x50m freestyle final – with Meg Harris, Madi Wilson, Mollie O’Callaghan and Emma McKeon finishing just behind the United States.
McKeon also won her individual 100m title while Lizzie Dekkers pocketed a bronze in the women’s 200m butterfly and Tommy Neill bagged a silver in the men’s 400m freestyle.
“This year has been pretty rough, can’t deny that,” Neill said.
“Recently it’s just been about enjoying the sport again. And even then, racing in front of my family is something really special and something I don’t take for granted.
“But to come back and put on a performance like that at the end of the year, just before Christmas, it’s a great end to the year.”
KING KYLE IS NOW A WORLD CHAMPION
The King has a new crown.
And it fits him just perfectly.
Finally, Kyle Chalmers is a world champion. And boy is he pleased about it – and so he should be because he earned it the hard way.
Olympic champion when he was still a teenager, Chalmers has been waiting patiently for over six years to win his first individual title after battling health injuries.
He’s won plenty of relays for Australia and Commonwealth Games titles but he now has an individual world gold after unleashing all his incredible power to capture the 100m freestyle short course world title in Melbourne on Thursday.
“I don‘t think it’s a relief. I think it’s something that I’m so proud of,” he said.
“For me, it‘s something that I’ve dreamed of doing since I was a kid. I had to pull out of the last three world short course championships due to injury and health issues. So for me to finally make it to one and stand on the top of the podium is something I’m gonna remember for the rest of my life.”
So will everyone else who watched the Big Tuna time his race to perfection, coming from second on the final turn to win in 45.16 seconds.
Swimming’s new gun, Romanian teenage sensation David Popovici, the world champion for 100m long-course, finished fourth after reeling off the fastest final lap in the field to break the junior world record.
Destined to be big rivals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the pair will also clash in the 200m this week, with the Romanian the favourite, but for now Chalmers has the bragging rights.
“David and I raced each other but there were 80 other guys who competed and each one of them deserves the respect what David and I get because they‘re all standing here representing their country at the highest level,” Chalmers said.
“Me and David are going to have some great battles over the next few years, but I know there‘s gonna be 10-15 other guys that could do something amazing in Paris. So I’ll chat to David when I get the chance to and I look forward to the races we have ahead.”
Chalmers has never ducked a challenge in his life and always wears his heart on his sleeve.
He made it clear he wanted this one badly and celebrated wildly when he won, straddling the lane rope, smashing his hand into the wall and leaning back on the wall like a man who had fulfilled his destiny.
“I race with my eyes closed so to be honest, I‘ve no idea where I ever am. I practice how I want to race every day of the week, so that when I come to racing, my body executes in autopilot,” he said.
“I felt like I was swimming fast and swimming well, so I knew that I‘d be around the mark but you never know until you touch the wall first and hear the crowd.
“It’s one year to the day since I had shoulder surgery, which, you know, almost potentially ended my career. So for me to be back here and standing on top of the podium is always something very special.
“Everyone faces challenges in their swimming career, and it‘s about people who can rise above those challenges and continue to find ways to win, and I’m very proud of that one.”
AUSSIE SWIM QUEEN BREAKS THROUGH FOR CAREER-FIRST
Emma McKeon waved goodbye to the one last achievement that had somehow eluded her until now – then celebrated with a loving wave and a kiss to her pop star boyfriend Cody Simpson.
As unlikely as it seems given her incredible success in the green and gold cossies, McKeon had never won an individual world title before her breakthrough success in the 100m freestyle at the world short-course championships on Thursday.
Australia’s swim queen ended her drought in the most stunning fashion – holding off Hong Kong sprinter Siobhan Haughey – to win in 50.77 seconds, just a heartbeat outside Cate Campbell’s world record of 50.25.
McKeon has won so many gold records that she would be forgiven for treating each one like just another notch in her belt but this one was clearly special and she celebrated in style – with a tender wave to her supporters, including her family and sweetheart Simpson, who was standing poolside in the VIP section, and later got a hug and a smooch from her.
“I‘m feeling good. I’m stoked to win that event. The crowd definitely came out so that just added to the excitement,” McKeon said.
“It felt like 30 of my family and friends were in the crowd so that really added to it as well and I wanted to make sure that I could win for them as well.
“I can always hear them and both my grandparents were also in the crowd, so I really wanted to make sure I could swim well for them as well. They haven‘t watched me race internationally since the Commonwealth Games four years ago. It’s definitely special.”
Her adorable reaction dispelled the notion McKeon’s interest in swimming would start to wane after she reached the sport’s peak at the Tokyo Olympics.
The theory was that after she got to the top, the only way for her to go was down.
For a while it looked like there was some merit in the idea, especially after she skipped this year’s long-course world championships and was beaten by young gun Mollie O‘Callaghan at the Commonwealth Games.
How wrong everyone was.
It turns out McKeon has made the summit her new home and the 28-year-old is planning to stay on top for as long as she can.
Her performances at this week’s world short-course championships are proof of how far she has come – and it was fitting that she received her gold medal from Campbell – with the pair embracing on the podium.
“I haven‘t done short-course worlds since I was 15. That was my very first team and I was a completely different person, different athlete,” McKeon said.
“I kind of had no idea what I was doing and I was just so shy and nervous. So, racing like that now, I‘m confidently racing and feeling like I really belong on this stage is so different to what I remember being back then.”
AUSSIE GOES FROM AGONY TO ECSTASY AT WORLD CHAMPS
Aussie swim sensation Mollie O’Callaghan was back in the water Thursday morning, showing no signs of the cramping problems that troubled her the night before.
The Queensland teenager was in agony on Wednesday when her abdominal muscles went into spasm but still managed to win a silver medal in 100m backstroke and a gold in the Australian 4x200m freestyle relay.
Showing no ill effects on Thursday, she finished second in her 50m backstroke heat to qualify third fastest for the semi-finals.
Kaylee McKeown – who pipped O’Callaghan to win gold in the 100m – cruised into the semis in 10th place.
Isaac Cooper was also looking in better nick after he nearly vomited during his post-race interview following his surprise bronze in the men’s 100m backstroke.
He broke the Oceania record to win his 50m backstroke heat and qualify second fastest for the semis.
Australia’s Brad Woodward missed out on the semis after placing outside the top 16.
The semis take place later on Thursday with the top eight going through to Friday’s final.
Mack Horton and Tommy Neill will fly the Australian flag in the men’s 400m freestyle final at the world championships.
With the top eight from the heats going straight through to the final, Horton qualified fourth without having to push too hard.
His younger teammate Tommy Neill was fifth – with the eight finalists separated by just 1.8 seconds.
Lizzie Dekkers sailed into the final of the women’s 200m butterfly.
Taking it easy, the Commonwealth Games medallist qualified seventh.
MCKEON’S WARNING TO COMPETITORS AHEAD OF FINAL
Emma McKeon has declared she still has room to improve in a warning to her competitors ahead of Thursday night’s 100m freestyle final.
McKeon sealed the swiftest semi-final time with 51.28, edging Hong Kong hopeful Siobhan Haughey (51.69) and teammate Madi Wilson (51.82).
Having shattered a 100m relay record on Tuesday night – becoming the first woman to swim a sub-50 leg – McKeon is confident she can also reach an extra gear when she pursues an individual gong on Thursday.
“That’s why I’m still going – it’s because I do believe I can get quicker and (Tuesday) night was the fastest relay split I’ve ever done,” McKeon said after her strong semi-final showing. “It just shows me that I do have more to improve.
“Tokyo (Olympics) was more than I expected and I think sometimes it’s hard to come off that. “I still believed that I’d give more but you go through doubts and things like that.
“But when I do something like that (swim a PB relay split), it just reminds me that I have more.”
The 28-year-old said claiming an individual medal in a world championship would also come as a confident booster ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“I think anyone winning a world championship, any year, it’s just awesome,” she said.
“But I’m also just looking towards Paris as well. And so everything in between is kind of in preparation for that, but also a bonus with where I’m at in my training.
“It’s just the process of getting up and performing under pressure. Balancing the emotional roller coaster of a big racing week and racing against the best of the world, it’s all just preparation for things like the Olympics.”
Meanwhile, David Popovici has maintained his disinclination for the shortcourse format, again talking down his chances as a 100m freestyle showdown with Kyle Chalmers awaits.
“I still don’t like short course,” he said. “I’m getting slowly but surely better at it – that’s why I’m here, to learn and to get better.
“I’m trying to take as many elements as possible, take it into long course and do even better there.
“I still have a lot to learn from my competitors. The moment we speak, they’re still better than me. And I think they’re going to still be a bit better than me for a short time to come. But this is a nice beginning in the short course world.”
Popovici received a friendly slap on the back from Chalmers while he was getting interviewed by media in a show of sportsmanship, with the pair expected to build an exciting rivalry for years to come.
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