Kyle Chalmers shares ‘horrendous’ extent of family abuse during Olympics
Aussie swim star Kyle Chalmers has revealed the full extent of social media abuse he copped during controversy at the Paris Olympics.
Australian swimming star Kyle Chalmers says he and his loved ones copped relentless death threats from the fans of one of his rivals during the Paris Olympics.
Chalmers finished on the 100m freestyle podium at a third consecutive Olympics, claiming silver behind China’s Pan Zhanle in Paris.
Pan obliterated the field, setting a new world record of 46.40sec before splitting a lightning quick 45.92sec to lead China to gold in the men’s medley relay.
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After breaking the world record, Pan claimed on Chinese TV that he and his team had been disrespected after arriving in Paris - and that Chalmers had not been warm to him.
Chalmers said at the time there was “no animosity” whatsoever towards Pan.
“I don’t think there was any animosity ever. I feel like there was none from my point of view,” Chalmers said.
“I spoke to him in the marshalling room before the race. After the race, I went straight over, shook his hand in the pool. On the podium, shook his hand and we had a great conversation before we started that cooldown, just in regards to how great the race was.
“He just said about me being his idol and how much of an honour it was for him to swim against me … so all the conversations we’ve ever had have been positive.
“His race was amazing the other night and I’m honoured to be in the fastest race ever that’s been swum in the 100m freestyle in history. It’s an incredible feat.”
But the saga led to Chalmers, who thought the comments were “weird”, becoming public enemy No. 1 in China with social media attacks being directed at the South Australian on Chinese platform Weibo.
Now Chalmers has revealed the full extent of the social media abuse and death targets aimed at him and his family, including his fiance, Norwegian swimmer Ingeborg Loyning.
“It was very stressful in that period, getting heaps of death threats come through and pretty horrendous messages,” Chalmers told The Advertiser.
“And then they started targeting my fiancée and family, and that becomes hard.
“Being on the other side of the world, you can’t do a lot about it.
“I’m trying to swim as well as check in on family who are in Paris, travelling around solo.”
Chalmers and Pan shook hands on the podium and Pan later defended the Aussie in the Chinese media.
“In the end it was really special that he did that,” Chalmers said.
Chalmers wasn’t happy he was asked whether he was retiring after claiming silver in the 100m freestyle in Tokyo.
“I think it’s quite unfair that in my special moment of just achieving my dream that I’d worked for three years was ‘how does it feel to be in your last individual race?’” he said.
“I’ve never put that out there or said that, and my intentions have always been to continue to swim.”
The 26-year-old is back home in South Australia after taking a break overseas following the Paris Olympics while celebrating his engagement to Loyning.
“I’ve never been on a holiday before so it’s kind of important for me to have some time away from the pool at the moment,” he said.
Chalmers has achieved everything in swimming but doesn’t have any plans to retire just yet, and wants to swim on at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
“I love my sport, I love the lifestyle, I love swimming, I love being an athlete,” he said.
“I desperately want to make LA but I’m not going to be the best 100 freestyler in Australia forever, it’s just whether my body holds up until then.
“My mind definitely will, my mind wants to continue to go even through to Brisbane 2032, it would be amazing to go to a home Olympics, but I’m definitely a realist in the fact that I know there’s younger guys coming through in the sport who are going to beat me one day and I know that my body is going to give out inevitably at some point also.”
Chalmers has been working as a labourer and has plans to settle down in Port Lincoln, South Australia once his swimming career id over.
“Being a builder over there is a job you can transition into pretty quickly and easily, so yeah, that’d be the goal,” he said.
Originally published as Kyle Chalmers shares ‘horrendous’ extent of family abuse during Olympics
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