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Australian swimming champion Kyle Chalmers says he is no longer willing to do poolside interviews after being “cut off” at an event last year.
Chalmers talks about his ongoing battle with the media The big deal podcast, admitting he was ready to give up the sport, such was the attention surrounding him, his ex Emma McKeon and her new boyfriend Cody Simpson.
But Chalmers said it was an interview with Joanne Rooney last May after he won the 50m butterfly at the Australian Nationals that really proved to be the turning point for him and “knocked him down (massively)” when asked about Simpson’s “disappointment”.
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“I came out of the pool, it was my first race after shoulder surgery… I had just won a national title in my fifth different individual event. I swam a personal best time after shoulder surgery, the 50 butterfly. I was pumped; really, really excited and happy about it all, came out of the pool and not one positive comment came from her,” he said on The Big Deal.
“She just dived straight into negativity. For me, Giaan has been in the sport for a very long time, so she understands swimming – she understands that the top two are the people who go to the big race and if you don’t, it’s just a shame – try again next year.
“It was pretty sick that someone I had a lot of business with back in the day got into this. I think for me, I’m not going to stop and talk to Giaan or talk at the pool now because I’m paying to compete in this event. My family is paying to be in the stands, my grandparents are coming to watch this meet… I’m so proud of my accomplishment, and then I get out of the pool and something like this happens.
“It’s just not worth it, I have no obligation to stop.
“I go home to Port Lincoln and all my social media is all this (competition with The Simpsons) and negative interviews or articles. Go on Instagram, that’s all I was going to see, go on Facebook, that’s all I was going to see.
“It was very, very tiring and exhausting.
“It was something I didn’t want to deal with.
“I was so proud of my achievement and I felt that my achievement was just diminished, crossed out and I found it very challenging to deal with it.
“I know it will happen again because unfortunately I will have to compete in this event again against the same guy and hopefully it will be the same result, but I will have to face him again.”
Chalmers said if not for family and friends rallying around him, he would have been ready to retire at just 24 years old.
“I was definitely considering retirement when all this happened, I wrote a retirement speech – ‘what’s the point?’, my shoulders hurt so much at this stage,” he revealed.
“I’m living in pain, all this happened, what’s the point of doing this? I was able to come back from everything.”
Chalmers said the out-of-pool drama that followed Rooney’s interview also had a “huge impact” on his mental health as stories and rumors continued to swirl around his personal life.
“It was a hard lesson to learn last year when I had the media turn against me when I had their support for such a long period of time,” he revealed.
“I stood up and said what I had to say and obviously (it) affected me a huge amount to the point where I was like, ‘I don’t know if I want to swim anymore and put myself through that because what’s the point?’ What do I actually get out of it to justify this? I didn’t get into sports, or sports at all, to have to deal with something like this when I’ve done nothing wrong.
“They just decided to target me and get me to write some stories.”
Chalmers laughed, saying he would be “pretty armored” by the 2024 Paris Olympics, given the scrutiny he has already endured.
And it will likely be his last Games as he looks to return to the quiet life in Port Lincoln after retirement.
“I think Paris will probably be my last dance,” he said.
“I’m really looking forward to this and counting down the days.
“I think my mind will give way to my body.
“I don’t want to be one of those swimmers who keep pushing and pushing and just being a relay swimmer.
“I want to go out on a high and come out on top.”
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