Olympics 2024: Kyle Chalmers responds after Aussie caught in ugly new China development at Paris Games

Aussie swimming star Kyle Chalmers has hit back after finding himself at the centre of an Olympic Games storm involving Chinese rival and 100m freestyle gold medallist, Pan Zhanle. The Chinese teenager smashed his own world record by 0.40 seconds to claim gold ahead of Chalmers in the final, before reportedly telling Chinese media that he’d been disrespected by several rival swimmers, including the Aussie. It comes after Pan’s victory was overshadowed by a previous doping controversy involving 23 Chinese swimmers.

Chalmers says it’s “weird” to be accused of snubbing Pan after a relay event on the opening night at the pool in Paris, with the Chinese swimmer also taking aim at America’s Jack Alexy. “After we finished the 4x100m freestyle relay on the first day, I greeted Chalmers but he completely ignored me,” Pan told Chinese media.

“This also included the US team’s (Jack) Alexy. When we trained, our coach was on the deck, and someone did a flip turn and splashed water directly on the coach. This behaviour seemed a bit disrespectful to us. But we beat all of them and broke the world record in such a difficult pool.”

Pan’s gold medal swim in the 100m freestyle is so far the only world record in the Paris pool, which has been widely criticised for being slower than usual. But Pan’s feat has been overshadowed somewhat by the fact 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive to a banned substance before the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, but were still allowed to compete. World anti-doping authorities accepted China’s explanation that the swimmers had eaten contaminated food at a team hotel.

Kyle Chalmers responds to Pan Zhanle’s accusation

Chalmers has spoken respectfully about his rival and says he trusts that Pan is competing fairly and that the strict drug-testing policies are ensuring it remains a clean competition. And the Aussie says he can’t understand why Pan accused him of being disrespectful by ignoring the Chinese swimmer on day one of swimming competition at the Paris Games.

“I find it a bit weird, I gave him a fist pump before the relays,” Chalmers said on Thursday. “And then my focus went to my teammates and my own racing. We had a laugh together at warm down last night, but no issues from my end.” However, there do appear to be issues back in Pan’s homeland, with Chalmers seemingly emerging as public enemy No.1 in China.

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The Aussie swimmer has reportedly been the target of a wave of social media attacks from users on the Chinese platform Weibo, which boasts some 605 million users. A video of Pan’s swipe at Chalmers has gone viral throughout China, where the swimmer is being celebrated as a national hero in the face of what many critics perceive to be a foreign bias against the Chinese swimmers. “Chalmers ignored Pan Zhanle’s greetings” was reportedly among one of the many trending topics on Weibo.

One Weibo user posted: “Some Westerners always believe they are superior to others. Instead of taking responsibility for their own mistakes, they would smear others if they were to lose. That’s why their countries are losing competitiveness and falling behind.”

Another added: “These days, even liberals in China find the West’s ridiculous lies and defamation against China repulsive. I used to think they were from developed nations; at least they could show some dignity. But alas, how wrong I was.”

Pan was not in the group of 23 swimmers allowed to compete in Tokyo after world anti-doping authorities accepted China’s explanation about the contaminated food. And Chalmers was diplomatic when asked about Pan’s staggering achievement after his world record in Paris.

“I do everything I possibly can to win the race and trust everyone’s doing the same as I am, staying true to the integrity of sport,” he said. “I trust that … he (Pan) deserves that gold medal.” Romania’s David Popovici, who took the bronze medal in the 100m freestyle, was also quick to congratulate the Chinese swimmer.

The furore around Pan and Chalmers came after the Aussie swimmer insisted his time in swimming was not up, in a hint that he could extend his incredible Olympic Games career by competing at the Los Angeles Games in four years. “This is not my last individual (event), I am not retiring any time soon,” Chalmers said. “I love it. I think I will continue on as long as I possibly can.”

with AAP