Kyle Chalmers has bigger fish to fry — and Aussie legend Ian Thorpe saw it coming a mile away.
The Aussie champion on Monday night was a last-minute withdrawal from the men’s 100m butterfly — an event he shared with pop star Cody Simpson.
The pair have been caught up in a storm at the Commonwealth Games after speculation surrounding Chalmers’ relationship with Aussie legend Emma McKeon.
McKeon is in a relationship with Simpson. She previously dated Chalmers last year.
All three have insisted this week there is no friction at all between them. Chalmers said the speculation was “actally just cr**”. He also revealed his mum has been in tears this week as a result of the swirling rumours and said he is at breaking point as he continues to deal with mental health issues.
Chalmers was listed on the official starting lists before the program got under way at the Birmingham pool, but it was revealed less than an hour before his scheduled swim that he was out of the event.
Simpson and 100m national champion Matthew Temple swam in the heats and moved through to the semi-finals which take place on Tuesday morning (AEST).
Chalmers finished second at the national championships behind Temple in the 100m butterfly, but he had a disappointing swim in the event at the World Championships in Budapest, where he failed to make the semi-finals.
After smashing a Commonwealth Games record in the semi-finals of the men’s 100m freestyle on Monday morning, Chalmers has elected to focus on his pet event and is skipping the butterfly.
Butterfly has been nothing more than a side project for Chalmers, designed to reinvigorate his passion for the sport, but it clearly hasn’t impacted his freestyle after he produced a 47.36 on Monday night — a time that would have won him the 100m freestyle world championships gold medal if he had competed in the event last month.
Aussie legend Ian Thorpe said after the news was revealed that it was not surprising for Chalmers to skip the event.
“It was no surprise for us, knowing that Kyle would concentrate on the 100 freestyle,” Thorpe said on Channel 7.
“With the expectations around Kyle now to perform after swimming a 47.3 in the semi-final, which would’ve won the World Championships, that have just passed, it shows that Kyle is in good form, and he really, I think, with what’s gone on and the kind of pressure that’s come with what’s being said at the moment for him, he’s found something extra and he has something to prove. And I think it’s something to prove to himself as well.”
Aussie legend Cate Campbell also said she was not surprised.
“He is conserving his energy, focusing on his 100m freestyle that he will swim later tonight,” Cate Campbell said on Channel 7.
“It’s not unexpected. It’s what I would do in his position. He’s obviously had a really big couple of days. And he really needs to focus on where it counts, and he said he’s done the butterfly for a bit of fun but he’s now here to focus.”
The 2016 Olympic champion has not won a major individual 100m freestyle event since the Rio Games, but has been a force for Australia when competing in relay events.
Simpson finished tirs in his heat and moved through with the fifth quickest time, behind Temple, who had the fourth quickest time.
Originally published as Kyle Chalmers pulls out of Cody Simpson ‘showdown’ at Commonwealth Games
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