CHALMERS Kyle

General
HEART CONDITION
He has suffered from supraventricular tachycardia [SVT], which causes an elevated heart rate. In 2019 he had a third operation to correct the condition, weeks after the world championships in Gwangju, Republic of Korea. "I could be sitting here right now and my heart rate could go up to 200 plus and I [could] get all dizzy and potentially black out. It was happening quite a lot when I was training and could potentially have happened when I was racing. So it was always a bit of a concern and something that I lived with for such a long period of time. The third surgery was in August 2019 and I haven't had a problem since [speaking in mid-2020]. It's a massive relief, and fingers crossed I don't have to think about it any more. I think it's helped me become a lot more grateful for what I have and the opportunities I have and get on a daily basis. It has helped me get a better understanding for life." (olympicchannel.com, 02 May 2020; swimswam.com, 26 Aug 2019; abc.net.au, 25 Oct 2017; adelaidenow.com.au, 25 May 2017, 18 Mar 2016)

SHOULDER INJURY
In 2021 he said that during training he had visualised himself beating his friend and rival, US swimmer Caeleb Dressel, in the 100m freestyle. He said this had the double benefit of exercising the muscle memory in arms, which he couldn't train with for part of 2020 due to a shoulder injury. "For me I need that motivation to push me through and Caeleb is obviously a great mate and a great competitor and I do visualise that race and I am visualising myself swimming, because obviously I haven't been able to actually swim with my arms. Visualisation has been a massive part of my training this last period. Imagining myself swimming while I'm kicking along, creating that muscle memory, it has been good. I think it is a really important area to tap into. My kick has definitely improved, which is a great thing for me, because my kick has always been a weaker point. It might look like I have a powerful kick when I'm racing but it is not overly strong, so for me to have to kick for that period of time, as hard as it was mentally to get through, I know that there have been benefits from doing it." (swimmingworldmagazine.com, 16 Feb 2021)

REPTILE ENTHUSIAST
He describes himself as a reptile enthusiast, and keeps a large collection of animals at his home in Adelaide, SA, Australia. He has a second Instagram account which is devoted to his reptile collection. (Instagram profile, 15 May 2021)