WITH a competitive record that few can match, Kyle Chalmers enters his third Olympic Games chasing history to become the first man to reclaim an Olympic 100m freestyle title.

Four have gone back-to-back – Duke Kahanamoku (1912 and 1920), Johnny Weissmuller (1924 and 1928), Alex Popov (1992 and 1996) and Pieter van den Hoogenband (2000 and 2004) – but Chalmers is looking to add to his gold in Rio 2016 and silver in Tokyo (2020).

It is a nod to Chalmers’ resilience and fight that in his nine-year international career he has never finished worse than second in the 100m freestyle at any major championship.

It all started when at the 2016 Games, 18-year-old Chalmers wrote his name into history by becoming the fourth Australian – after Jon Henricks (1956), John Devittt (1960) and Michael Wenden (1968) – to win the men’s 100m freestyle title.

And then at the Tokyo Olympics, he came within a whisker of joining an even more illustrious list.

Australians had learned in Rio not to be alarmed if Kyle fell back early in the race because he won there by storming home from seventh at the turn, but this time there was just a little too much to do.

Even though he made up a quarter of a second on Caeleb Dressel in a storming last lap, he finished an agonising 0.06sec behind the American, capturing the silver in a PB-equalling time of 47.08sec.

He would later add a bronze in the 4x100m freestyle relay, anchoring in the fifth fastest relay split of all-time to ensure Australia made it to the podium.

Relays in the green and gold have brought out the best in Chalmers.

In his World Championship debut in 2015, Chalmers punched out a fantastic 47.92 second leg in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay. He also raced in the 4x100m medley heats where he swam even faster (47.86) to guide his team to the final where they won the silver medal.

One week after competing in his first Senior Worlds, Kyle appeared at the World Junior Championships in Singapore, winning seven medals, including three gold.

He also broke Cameron McEvoy’s 17-year national record by winning the 100m freestyle in 48.47 seconds.

Competing on home soil at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, Chalmers broke three games records while winning gold in the men’s 200m freestyle, the 4x100m freestyle relay, the 4x100m medley relay, the 4x200m freestyle relay, as well as collecting silver in the 100m freestyle.

Then at the 2019 World Championships, Kyle won gold in the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay, silver in the men’s 100m freestyle and the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay, and bronze in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay.

He battled injuries in the lead-up to the Tokyo Games, including having heart surgery and a shoulder operation but still dominated the freestyle sprints at the Olympic trials, winning the 100m and 200m events.

He swam a reduced program at the 2022 Budapest World Championships but still helped Australia set a world record in winning gold in the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay, while helping the men’s 4x100m freestyle quartet to bronze.

But, a few weeks later, he swam a full range of events at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, winning the 100m freestyle and three relay gold medals while also helping Australia to the men’s medley relay silver.

Kyle’s strong form continued into the world titles in Fukuoka, Japan, where, after many attempts, he won his first individual world championships gold medal in his favoured 100m freestyle.

He also picked up gold in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay and the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay.

Kyle, 26, grew up playing Australian Rules football and he loves nothing more than getting out for a kick with his team in Adelaide when he can – and a kick of the Sherrin still features in his poolside warm up.

Kyle’s father Brett played 120 SANFL games and 25 AFL games for Port Adelaide, and the sprint star is a passionate supporter and ambassador for the club.

Having secured his place as one of the country’s greatest freestyle sprinters and most dependable relay swimmers, Kyle is now laser focussed on Paris.

“For now, it’s time to lock in and give my absolute all to having success in Paris. Hungrier than ever,” he said.

POD POP UP STAT: Chalmers, who recently became engaged to Norwegian swimmer Ingeborg Loyning, had a collection of up to 500 reptiles, including snakes and lizards, and boasts a dedicated Instagram for fellow reptile enthusiasts.