Kyle Chalmers won again. But this time it was different

At trials in 2019, Chalmers clocked 47.35 seconds. At the 2021 trials, the time to get him on the team was 47.59 seconds.
He was slower at trials in 2023, but less than two months later went on to win a maiden individual long-course 100m freestyle gold medal in Fukuoka.
He was slower at trials in 2024 but picked up a silver medal at the Paris Olympics. Only an astounding world record from Pan Zhanle stood in the way of more Chalmers Olympic glory.
Chalmers will head into the upcoming world championships, starting July 27, as a medal contender in the two-lap dash. Pan hasn't come close to replicating his stunning world record of 47.4 seconds, so is an unknown quantity.
American Jack Alexy, who finished second to Chalmers in Fukuoka two years ago, clocked a sharp heat time of 46.99 at the USA trials recently.
When Chalmers came from nowhere to swim a 47.27 in Norway in April, it was a sign he was really tracking in the right direction.
Chalmers is a racer. He rarely gets solid competition in Australia and isn't pushed to his limit.
It's why he could be flying under the radar for another world title.
After getting engaged last year and with a baby on the way, Chalmers appears happier than ever as he continues his quest to make it to the LA 2028 Olympics.
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Chalmers knocked off Flynn Southam by 0.4 seconds on Thursday night.
'It's just trusting what I've been doing in training and listening to what my coaches are telling me to do,' Chalmers said on Nine. 'Everything we've been doing is to swim a personal best time. And that was very close tonight.'
Meanwhile, the other impressive swim of the night came from Lani Pallister, who took down Ariarne Titmus' Australian record in the 800m freestyle.

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Mollie O'Callaghan stuns in 100m final at Australian swim trials

News.com.au

29 minutes ago

News.com.au

Mollie O'Callaghan stuns in 100m final at Australian swim trials

Champion swimmer Mollie O'Callaghan has made a major statement with a spectacular time in the 100m freestyle final of the Australian trials. The 21-year-old, who won Olympic gold in Paris for the 200m freestyle and finished fourth in the 100m race, was unstoppable as she swam a time of 52.87 seconds to add to her Singapore World Championships schedule. She was happy with her swim despite a challenging period of preparation. 'This is probably my fourth 100m of the season for freestyle and it was definitely a tough one,' she said. 'I probably have to be a bit nicer on myself to get to this point. 'I think when you're at your weakest it's always worth it to step up.' O'Callaghan had experienced a challenging time after Paris and leading into the trials, revealing she struggled with her mental health after coming down from the highs of the Olympics. 'I've had a rough past couple months, it was really stressful for me,' she said. 'There hasn't been anything as hard as this, coming back and trying to race after the Olympics. 'I have had a lot of pressure on myself to get to this point and to make the team, especially in the 200 freestyle — I put a lot of pressure on myself. 'Externally, people expect a lot of me but they don't see the work that goes behind it and what I've been through.' The 100m result is O'Callaghan's second major triumph at the trials after she also took out the 200m freestyle final with an impressive 1:54.43 time, ahead of St Peters Western squad mate Lani Pallister in second. With the weight of making the team for the World Championships now off of her shoulders, O'Callaghan said she was looking forward to enjoying herself in Singapore alongside her teammates. 'Dean (Boxall) and I have spoken about it this year, there have been some curveballs thrown at me but it's now about having fun,' she said. 'I think making the team and having that pressure taken off, just to go race, meet new people, enjoy myself and train alongside my buddies in this team – that's the whole purpose of this.'