- Chalmers revealed that he received a lot of criticism for his ‘snub’
- He says he has cleared the air with his Chinese rival Pan Zhanle
- He says he hopes to move forward in the relationship with Pan
Kyle Chalmers has revealed he has spoken to Chinese rival Pan Zhanle to smooth things over after he was accused of snubbing the gold medallist at the Paris Olympics.
Pan claimed China’s first gold medal in the Paris pool on Thursday morning (AEST), setting a new world record in the process and leaving the Australian champion behind.
Speaking to a Chinese news outlet after the race, Pan attacked Chalmers, accusing him of belittling him after winning silver in the one-sided final.
This sparked a storm on Chinese social media platform Weibo, which according to Statista has more than 605 million users.
Chalmers admitted he felt the backlash, but said he had cleared the air with Pan.
“A huge amount of pain, which is obviously very difficult to deal with mentally,” Chalmers said. News Corporation.
‘But I know I’ve done my best to be respectful, as I am to each of my competitors.
‘Over the years I’ve had some amazing relationships with guys I’ve competed with and I think this will be no different.
Kyle Chalmers says he has suffered greatly from the snub drama
Chalmers says he has spoken to his Chinese rival Pan Zhanle to clear the air
‘I’m really looking forward to moving forward in our relationship and challenging each other and having some amazing battles in the pool over the years.
“Now we are all tied. Last year we raced in the world championship and I beat him, but this year he beat me, so I hope to be able to compete in the third round next year.”
The Australian said he asked Pan about his interview with Chinese television, insisting he had no problem with him.
“To be honest, it’s been a whirlwind the last three or four days,” Chalmers said.
‘I just said ‘I’m not sure if you’ve seen everything the media is saying, but I find it a bit strange because we’ve had so many positive exchanges’ and I can’t really understand why this is happening.
Chalmers finished second behind the Chinese star in the men’s 100m freestyle final.
He said: “I respect you a lot as a competitor and as a person.”
“But it’s very difficult because we obviously don’t speak the same language. I don’t know any Chinese, so it’s quite difficult to talk at the best of times, but from my point of view, I don’t have any problems.
“The race he ran the other night was incredible and I’m honored to be part of the fastest race ever run in the history of the 100m freestyle. It’s an incredible feat.”
Chalmers’ secret weapon at the Paris Games could be his new fiancée Ingeborg Løyning.
The Australian had been through a rollercoaster of emotions at the 2022 Commonwealth Games when claims of a “love triangle” emerged between him and lovebirds Emma McKeon and Cody Simpson.
The ordeal led Chalmers to seriously consider quitting the sport he loves, but in Paris he looks completely rejuvenated and eager for revenge against Løyning.
While the swimmers did not take part in the opening ceremony along the River Seine in Paris, he shared images from inside the Australian athletes village, including one of himself very much in love with Løyning.
“My Norwegian princess,” she captioned the image with a heart emoji.
Chalmers and Løyning announced their engagement in June this year, putting an end to the “love triangle” rumors once and for all.