In an interview with Australia’s 7News Adelaide, Australian superstar swimmer Kyle Chalmers has moved to Queensland to train under former Olympian Ashley Delaney after his coach Peter Bishop was stood down by the South Australia Institute of Sport and had his coaching accreditation revoked.
While the details of Bishop’s termination and suspension are still murky, but 7News says that it isn’t a criminal situation and that police are not involved and that Bishop has been told that he can reapply for his coaching accreditation after the Olympic Games.
Chalmers, 25, won Olympic gold in the 100 free at the Rio Olympics in 2016. Historically an event dominated by swimmers in their 20s, he took the win just past his 18th birthday.
That was one of six total medals for Chalmers, including a 100 free silver in Tokyo, to go with 8 World Championships.
Bishop has been Chalmers’ club coach for essentially all of his elite career, first at the Marion Swimming Club and then at SASI since being promoted in 2017 after Chalmers’ success in Rio.
Besides Chalmers, Bishop was also the coach of butterflier Matthew Temple, backstroker Hayden Stoeckel and Paralympian Matt Cowdrey, who has 13 gold medals across three Paralympic Games.
Chalmers, the 2023 SASI Male Athlete of the Year, has now moved on to train with Delaney. Delaney, 37, won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics on Australia’s 400 medley relay, and also has medals at the World Championships in long course and short course, the Pan Pac Championships, and a medley relay gold medal from the 2010 Commonwealth Games. He won bronze in all three breaststroke races at those Commonwealth Games, and individually set Australian Records in the 50, 100, and 200 back in long course; and 100 and 200 back in short course.
Delaney coaches at St. Andrew’s Anglican College on the Sunshine Coast, home to a new $13 million outdoor 50-meter pool. The most prominent name in Delaney’s squad is 20-year-old sprinter and backstroker Isaac Cooper, who earlier this year won the World Championship in the 50 backstroke shortly after a shift to St. Andrews.
Chalmers has kept a positive attitude in spite of the forced coaching change 140 days out from the Olympic Games – saying in interviews last week that he wasn’t going to invest energy into Bishop’s situation, instead focusing on his Olympic preparation.
“To be honest, I don’t think I’ll think much of it until after the Olympic Games,” Chalmers said at the New South Wales State Open last week, where Chalmers swam one event, the 100 free, placing 2nd in 48.53.
“For me it’s getting on with the job. It’s too close for me to use my energy where it’s not needed at the moment, so I need to just focus on what I’m doing and what Peter has prepared me for until this point.”
See the full interview with 7NEWS below, where Chalmers talks about how he can still count on his longtime coach as a friend in spite of the suspension.
EXCLUSIVE: Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers has thrown his support behind his coach after he was banned from the Paris Games. The star has opened up to 7NEWS about his decision to pack up his life in SA and move north in a bid to keep his gold medal hopes alive. @elspethhussey7 pic.twitter.com/0YfEPjHYqe
— 7NEWS Adelaide (@7NewsAdelaide) March 19, 2024
It’s a nice part of the world. And being a bit out of the way means Kyle can concentrate on his training away from the media attention he would’ve gotten in his home-town in the lead-up to Paris.
LDR with Ingeborg then!
I feel like I could learn so much from Kyle’s attitude. It seems like he’s had such rotten luck with extenuating circumstances (tabloid news, injuries, health concerns, coaching issues, etc.). Personally, I would probably give in to the temptation of having my own pity party. But Kyle seems to just address the relevant issue, take whatever measures are needed, regroup/reset, and move forward. He definitely has the spirit of a champion.
Agree. For all his swimming ability, it still pales compared to his mental fortitude.
the man is resilient…he’s a big guy but the beast inside him is much bigger…young kids and adults alike could learn that even though we may all just be human, we are so much stronger than we give ourselves credit for, to me thats why he is my favorite swimmer his willpower and ability to fight is amazing. I hope he gets on the podium in that 100 free.
Any word on if Temple moved over too?
No he is not. They are great mates and sharing a house, so it is a sudden move with no hint of this at the NSW Championships!
So Kyle broke up with Matt to be with Isaac?
Spicy 🌶️!
https://amp.nine.com.au/article/266a0e40-6dcf-4bdc-847c-b161339013a4
I hope this doesn’t cause Chalmers to retire earlier than he otherwise would’ve. Can SwimSwam find out what’s happening with Temple?
I think Chalmers is retiring the second the medley relay wraps in Paris.
I’m confident you’re wrong
Kyle said this in another article:
“It’s all part of sport isn’t it (and for me) I’ll swim as long as I possibly can..I love swimming.”
Not the words of someone that’s retiring after Paris.
See above
Oh dear. I wonder what Temple is doing. Of all the options in QLD Ash Delaney would not be near the top of my list
Sometimes it’s about the training environment and I would think Kyle has enough experience to decide on what’s going to work best for him. Kyle and Isaac have shared a great friendship for some time so I am not surprised this is where Kyle feels most comfortable under his circumstances.
He trained there on regular occasions before and is good mates with Ash this is a logical fit for Kyle. Not sure about Temple but since this has been going on they (Kyle and Matt) have been training overseas so I think he might do the same.