2025 BERGEN SWIM FESTIVAL
- Friday, April 4th – Sunday, April 6th
- Ado Arena, Bergen, Norway
- LCM (50m)
- Meet Central
- SwimSwam Preview
- Entries/Results
The 2025 Bergen Swim Festival kicked off today from Norway with host nation swimmers competing against visitors from the Netherlands, Australia and beyond in a bid to qualify for this summer’s World Championships.
It was Aussie Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers who stole the show on day one, with the 26-year-old father-to-be ripping a 47.27 scorcher to top the men’s 100m freestyle podium to begin his campaign.
Racing in the native nation of his fiance Ingeborg Løyning, Chalmers already broke the Bergen Swim Festival record with a casual morning swim of 48.04 (23.38/24.66). That erased the previous meet mark of 48.78 Olympic medalist Pieter Timmers of Belgium, now retired, put on the books in 2019.
Flash forward to tonight and Chalmers opened in 22.76 and closed in 24.51 to fire off a menacing 47.27 as an announcement to the world that he is still in peak form despite several heart surgeries, a shoulder surgery, etc.
His time of 47.27 crushed the field, although runner-up Sander Sorensen did establish a new Norwegian national record with his silver medal-garnering performance of 48.86. Look for a follow-up post on that promising swim.
As for Chalmers, his 47.27 outing represents the third-fastest time of the multi-Olympic medalist’s career, one which boasts 2016 Olympic gold, 2020 Olympic silver and 2024 Olympic silver in his bread-and-butter 100m free event.
In fact, this evening’s performance was faster than two of those three Olympic appearances.
- 2016 gold time – 47.58
- 2020 silver time – 47.08
- 2024 silver time – 47.48
Top 5 LCM 100 Freestyle Performance of Kyle Chalmers‘ Career.
- 47.08, 2020 Olympic Games (2021)
- 47.15, 2023 World Championships Fukuoka
- 47.27, 2025 Bergen Swim Festival
- 47.36, 2022 Commonwealth Games Gold Coast
- 47.44, 2023 Australian World Championship Trials.
Chalmers now ranks far and away as the #1 swimmer in the world this season with tonight’s performance.
2024-2025 LCM Men 100 Free
Chalmers
47.27
| 2 | Kim Youngbeom | KOR | 47.96 | 03/24 |
| 3 | Thomas CECCON | ITA | 48.17 | 03/16 |
| 4 | Jamie Jack | AUS | 48.27 | 12/16 |
| 5 | Shaine Casas | USA | 48.31 | 03/06 |
BDE!!!!
Big Dad Energy…
Needs to legally change his name from ‘Chalmers’ to ‘Champion’..
Stud
Where is that drug cheat Pan and his cheating mates
Sooooo exciting. And historically, Kyle is his fastest in championship finals. Best news ever to see 😍
In other news:
Wiffen reaffirmed to Irish media in a new interview that he’s targeting 3 world records at next week’s Irish Open.
I know he’s been making such claims for the last 2 years, but imagine if he takes down Biedermann, Zhang Lin and Robert Finke 🤣🤣 ??
I love Wiffen but it is cringe how he consistently predicts he will break WRs and then never does lol (except for a weak SCM one from 2001)
I think the 1500 is actually within reach but the Zhang Lin WR is impossible and he is not even that good at the 400.
Nah this is the energy swimming needs. It’s getting people excited to tune in and people to sit in seats at the venue. Doesn’t matter if he breaks them or not this is how you hype it up. Now I’m gonna be paying attention to a meet I never knew was happening until seeing this
And when people tune in and it’s slower than the Sacramento Pro Swim and then decide swimming is boring and are turned off, what then? Lol
Obviously thrilled to see Kyle racing injury free (for the first time since he was 18?), he has always had the raw ability to go way under 47s, but keep a very close eye on Sander Sorensen too – Still a junior (2007 born), he swam 49.5/1.47.1 last week so he may well take another chunk off his 200 this weekend.
King Kyle doing what he does best, with the type of racer he is and the shape hes in right now, I wouldn’t be surprised if he beats Pan at worlds this year.
Break 47 first