Swimming-Chalmers targets Olympic relay gold after Australian Open success

SYDNEY, April 7 (Reuters) – Kyle Chalmers mowed down his rivals to take the 100 metres freestyle crown on the Australian Open swimming championships on Monday earlier than revealing his need to lastly land an Olympic dash relay gold ​in 2028.

The 27-year-old South Australian has just one Olympic gold in his ‌bumper assortment of medals — the 100m title he gained a decade in the past as a teen in Rio de Janeiro.The former world champion has two bronzes and a silver within the 4×100 relay from his three Olympics however would really like nothing higher than to stun hosts the United States in their very own ‌yard ​in Los Angeles.

“I’d love a gold medal in a ⁠relay,” Chalmers instructed Code Sports after ⁠profitable the blue riband dash in 48.39 seconds.

“To go to a fourth Olympics and get a gold medal in that relay that would be, for me, the ultimate success at this point.

“And I say that truthfully and honestly, I love ​that relay and if we were able to win it, I think it would be amazing.”

Chalmers believes the inclusion of 50m world file holder Cam McEvoy on the ⁠Australia crew can be an enormous enhance to ⁠their hopes of wresting away the title from the Americans, who ​have gained it on the final three Games.

McEvoy has not swum relays for the final ​5 years and Chalmers mentioned he can be ready to surrender ‌the anchor leg if it will tempt the 31-year-old again into the crew occasion.

“If it was to work out, I feel like we would be a very good chance of beating America at their home Olympics, which on night number one … would set the ⁠team up for an amazing week in the pool,” Chalmers added.

Most of the swimmers on the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre are extra instantly involved with exhibiting their kind forward of ⁠this yr’s Commonwealth Games in ‌Glasgow and the Pan Pacific Championships which comply with in California.

World ⁠champion Mollie O’Callaghan took out the ladies’s 100m title in 52.66 ​seconds on ‌Monday, whereas Olympic champion and world file holder Kaylee McKeown ​clocked two ⁠minutes, 5.66 seconds to win the 200m backstroke.

Former world champion Sam Short took out the lads’s 400m freestyle in 3:42.53, almost 4 seconds forward of Paris Olympics silver medallist Elijah Winnington (3:46.36).

The championships proceed till Wednesday. The Australian trials for the Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships happen from June 7 to 13 at Sydney’s Olympic Park.

(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, ​modifying by Peter Rutherford)