Today on the GMM Podcast, we dive into the legacy, battles, and future of one of swimming’s greatest competitors: Kyle Chalmers.
Kyle burst onto the world stage as a teenager in Rio, snatching gold in the 100 freestyle. Since then, he’s stacked up nine Olympic medals across Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020, and Paris 2024.
Talking to Kyle is easy and fun. This Aussie makes friends quickly, and he cherishes his relationships with the world’s best sprinters. My title for this post might sound like I’m swinging for the fences, but I believe it’s accurate: we are witnessing a once-in-a-generation 100 freestyle field as we ramp up to the LA 2028 Olympics. And Kyle’s bond with each competitor is intimate, respectful, and fiercely competitive the moment they hit the water.
In this conversation, Kyle unpacks those rivalries and his recent performance at the 2025 World Championships. He celebrates and details Australia’s tradition of punching above its weight, knowing full well that Swimming Australia draws from a smaller talent pool yet stands toe-to-toe with Team USA’s massive scale and resources.
For Aussie fans, Kyle represents his nation with pride. But more than that, he represents the broader world of swimming (especially smaller nations) always acknowledging and celebrating the achievements of others.
For Team USA fans (and USA Swimming leadership), Kyle offers unique insight into what it takes to dig in, train differently, and squeeze every opportunity to reach the highest level in the relays. He even takes a moment to praise Rob Woodhouse, Swimming Australia’s CEO and former Olympian, for the culture he’s helped shape.
If global swimming has a spirit animal, it’s The Dolphins, and I’m thankful we have them to learn from and be inspired by.
Want more Kyle Chalmers? Subscribe to his YouTube channel here.
Follow Kyle on Instagram here.
Follow Gold Medal Mel on Instagram here.
Many thanks to Swimoutlet.com for their 13 years partnership and support of this swimming news and media.
This is a Gold Medal Media production presented by SwimOutlet.com. Host Gold Medal Mel Stewart is a 3-time Olympic medalist and the co-founder of SwimSwam.com, a Swimming News website.
Opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the interviewed guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of the hosts, SwimSwam Partners, LLC and/or SwimSwam advertising partners.
Did he ever talk about what happened with his anchor on the men’s medley prelim?
I mean I guess he might have just run out of gas at the end of the meet, but 48.3 was way off what we could expect from him in that situation.
I do always say, no people – let alone professional swimmers who may be the subject of comments – should read comments, but:
I do like that there’s a chance Chalmers has seen me mention a potential “Super Nintendo Chalmers” nickname and having absolutely no idea what it’s referring to.
if youre reading this kyle… hi and i hope i can see you at World Cup : )
Chalmers read the SS comments and re-followed Pan on Instagram.
This is what it looked like earlier.
You’d be amazed at how often elite swimmers follow/unfollow accounts. We see it in our notifications all the time. One multi-time Olympic gold medalist followed and unfollowed us on Instagram 8 times last week.
I think someone (probably in their federation’s comms department) tells them it’s good for their mental health, and then they get really wound up in “oh my mental health is directly correlated to who I follow on Instagram” and it sets off a spiral, because that’s an incredibly flimsy foundation for mental health.
He is amazing in Relays 👏
Yes, you certainly want him in your team and not the opposition team that’s for sure. He has the ability to enable all his other team members lift around him also, makes him dangerous on so many levels if your not on his side.
who votes a comment like this down???? WTF?
I’m stoked to hear that Kyle believes he can beat all those guys, and I do believe that he can get faster! And honestly going 47.2 off low volume training, I can see why that gives him the confidence and excitement to keep going and improving. We’re blessed with this generation of sprinters man
…the guy’s down to the earth…seems very content with his lifestyle and process. That’s a great indication of continued success.
Ok his bachelor party sounds hella wholesome ❤️
right! I was waiting for an ugly story, but he confessed everyone’s getting older. Still, being with your best mates is great no matter how wholesome the time is spent together.
Are there any wild bachelor party stories from American swimmers in comparison though ?
Did you ask him why he unfollowed Pan on IG right after the 100 free semis in Singapore? Pretty salty move to do in the middle of competition, when Pan is still following him on socials.
After getting called out last year by Pan, he tried to save face in front of media and act like nothing happened and now he’s just showing his true face.
I knew it when he unfollowed his buddy Brett last year on Instagram and followed Pan directly, just for the looks and he can act like he didn’t like that joke video from Brett and tried to calm the situation with Chinese fans.
It only took him 2 weeks after the Olympics… Read more »
If people try to dissect and analyze who I follow and unfollow on social media on a daily basis, they’d go clinically crazy and admit themselves to mental institution.
Parasocial much?
The disease comes from caring about following and unfollowing.
Not sure why everyone needs to follow everyone on social media .. if their posts don’t interest me I just unfollow them .. it’s called freedom that we have in western civilisation
I feel that you’re overthinking this social media thing.
Personally i dont think he is overthinking, it seems a little calculated actually
I heard Pan & his coach were splashing each other over at the practice pool while Kyle, Jack and David were lighting it up at finals
I think braden answered this above. A lot of swimmers unfollow accounts or shutoff social media ahead of or during competition. The stress can be intense, and your ability to wall-off distractions and focus is key to unlocking your best performance. So, I think this is a nothing-burger.
It’s not even sure whether Chalmers unfollowed Pan or Pan removed him. Stop those unnecessary social media analysis.