‘What you're doing is not normal': Why Mollie O can take swimming to uncharted waters
She's not caught up in milestones, instead fixated on the next training session with her coach Dean Boxall or the next opportunity to slash time off her personal best.
'She always seems to be winning a gold medal and breaking world records,' Chalmers said. 'I remember just chatting to her and being like, what you're doing is not normal. Please make sure you slow down and embrace this. It's happening nearly every night.'
These world championships have been a dream for O'Callaghan: four races, three golds and a silver in the 100m freestyle, just 0.12 seconds off gold.
It begs the question: where will O'Callaghan rank among the greats when she eventually tosses aside the goggles?
She has been fortunate to compete at three world championships (2022, 2023, 2025) in such a short space of time, with COVID-19 disrupting the usual biennial schedule.
Next year brings the Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships, followed by the 2027 world titles in Budapest and the LA Olympics in 2028.
Five-time Olympic champion Ian Thorpe – widely regarded as Australia's greatest swimmer – said this week he hopes O'Callaghan experiences the magic of a home Olympics in Brisbane 2032.
By then, she could race at three more longcourse world championships – 2027, 2029 and 2031. At her current strike rate of about four golds a meet, she could reach 24 by 2031.
O'Callaghan's youth may be her greatest asset. She'll be 24 at LA and 28 in Brisbane. Swimming beyond then is not out of the question.
Swimmers are also competing for longer nowadays. Cate Campbell retired at 32, while her sister Bronte is 31 and still weighing up her future.
Michael Phelps holds the record for the most world titles with 26.
O'Callaghan already has as many Olympic golds as Thorpe – though two were earned as a heat swimmer in relays in Tokyo.
Individual Olympic golds will likely define her legacy. She has one – last year's 200m freestyle – while Kaylee McKeown and Ariarne Titmus have four and three respectively. Thorpe won three individual golds across two Olympics.
O'Callaghan has broken just one world record – the 200m freestyle at the 2023 world titles – a mark Titmus reclaimed at last year's Olympic trials.
Thorpe's mythology partly lies in his 23 world records, often set in semi-finals before being broken again in the final.
In the 100m freestyle, O'Callaghan's best time is 52.08. McKeon (51.96) and Cate Campbell (52.03) have both been faster.
Australia's relay strength has also improved O'Callaghan's medal tally. McKeown, for example, can't swim in the 4x100m or 4x200m freestyle relays because she's a backstroker.
But she is a supreme athlete with a huge future.
'She flies under the radar a bit because she's not only incredible individually, but carries our relays a lot of the time as well,' Chalmers said. 'She's someone I draw a lot of inspiration from.'
A big smile spreads across O'Callaghan's face when she hears that Thorpe admires her doggedness and hopes she gets to experience a home Olympics in seven years' time.
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'He's a legend of the sport. For someone like that to talk about me is an honour,' O'Callaghan said.
'I would love to go until Brisbane. I've got a long career to go and I'm only 21. I have to think about that sometimes. I'm trying to get the best out this year for the longevity to get to LA and Brisbane.'
So, what is O'Callaghan's ceiling?
'I don't think she has one,' said teammate Meg Harris. 'That girl just goes and goes. She gets so nervous but that's because of just how great she is. She's going to do great things and I'm so excited to be part of that journey with her.'
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