- Kyle Chalmers has given some surprising news about his career
- The Australian took silver in the 100-meter freestyle
- Chalmers revealed his retirement plans
Kyle Chalmers has reversed his decision to retire after a thrilling 100m freestyle final saw him claim silver from the jaws of a miserable defeat.
The Australian veteran suffered a very slow first 50 meters in the blue ribbon event on Thursday morning.
Chalmers, who started in lane five as second quickest in qualifying, was slowest to touch the wall at the corner as his rivals made a fast start to the race.
But he made up ground and managed to break through in the last 15 metres, clocking a time of 47.48 seconds.
However, in a surprising turn of events, Pan was more than a second faster than Chalmers to take gold, and the Rio Olympic champion had to settle for silver.
An emotional Chalmers said he had much more to give to the sport in a poolside interview with Nine.
“This is not my last individual race,” he said. “I don’t plan on retiring anytime soon.”
“I love it. I think I’ll keep racing as long as I can. But this race means a lot to me. It’s really special.
Kyle Chalmers has made a radical change to his retirement plans
The Australian regained a silver medal after a slow start in the 100m freestyle final
“I was probably speechless. I think coming here, having three guys who have a faster personal record than me and being able to stay in control and calm, and there’s not a lot of pressure and expectations on me, but I’m very, very happy with that.
“Yeah, I don’t know what else to say. It’s incredible. I feel very, very honored.”
Chalmers added that he wants to remain deeply involved in swimming when he eventually decides to hang up his goggles.
“It means a lot to me,” he said. “Especially at the end of my career.”
‘In my first race, I was very naive and didn’t know what it meant to be an Olympian or an Olympic champion, and I had to work very hard and go through a lot to get to Tokyo.
Chalmers says he still has a lot to give to swimming after winning silver
Getting silver there is probably one of the highlights of my swimming career, and to back it up again this year is pretty special, being an Olympian and being recognised, I guess, as an Olympic champion.
‘My biggest goal now is to inspire the next generation of swimmers coming up.
‘I was a South Australian boy who made it onto the world stage of sport and for me, I can’t wait to get back home to Port Lincoln and start inspiring the next generation to keep going and help them believe it’s possible, even for South Australians in general.
“I’m very proud to be Australian, from South Australia and from a small rural town called Port Lincoln. I love it.”