Australian Star Kyle Chalmers Taking Training Break While Tending to Back Injury
Future Hall of Fame Kyle Chalmers has announced he is taking a brief break from training to give a back injury the time to heal. The multi-time Olympic medalist, including gold in the 100-meter freestyle at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, Chalmers revealed the news ahead of the Swim GP in Melbourne, a meet in which he was initially scheduled to compete. However, Chalmers’ back injury forced his withdrawal from the competition.
As a leader of the Australian squad, Chalmers is still in attendance at the Swim GP, supporting his National Team mates, many of whom are preparing for next month’s World Short Course Championships in Beijing. By addressing his back injury now, Chalmers is playing the long game, the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles the top target. Next year, Chalmers will chase a berth to the 2027 World Championships in Budapest.
“I’ve been in the pool and I’ve been training, but after my most recent MRI (on my back) and (advice from) my doctor, we’ve decided having six weeks of no swimming is probably going to be the best just to rehab my back and get on top of it,” Chalmers said. “I think it’s important to come along and show my support for Swim GP and be part of a team environment, which is something that I’ve always loved throughout my swimming career.”
Chalmers has been a consistent force for Australia on the international stage since he emerged as Olympic champ in the 100 freestyle a decade ago. He followed that top-of-podium appearance with silver medals at the 2020 Games in Tokyo and 2024 Games in Paris. Over the summer, Chalmers collected four medals at the Commonwealth Games, including gold in the 50 butterfly and bronze in the 100 freestyle.
Swimming World Oceania correspondent Ian Hanson contributed to this report.