Swimming has a serious doping problem. At least that is the conviction of Kyle Chalmers, the Olympic champion in the 100 meter freestyle. According to the Australian, who loved gold in Rio Pieter Timmers in 2016, about half of his competitors have butter on their heads.
Chalmers made his striking statements during a podcast. “There is a lot of doping everywhere in swimming. You know it’s going on, and I realize I probably can’t trust half of the guys I meet. ”
Chalmers is not the first the best. He was just 18 in Rio when he captured Olympic gold. It was ago from Ian Thorpe in Sydney (2000) that Australian swimming delivered yet another young Olympic champion. Thorpe was barely 17 at the time. Chalmers added two more bronze medals in the relay in Brazil. Last year, Chalmers was good for silver at the World Cup in South Korea.
Photo: AFP
The doping case of his compatriot Shayna Jack, who tested positive outside competition but appealed to the TAS against a four-year suspension, proves, according to Chalmers, that Australia does take the fight against illegal substances seriously. “As an Australian team, we are strongly against it. Look at Shayna Jack. She tested positive this year and was suspended for four years because we hate doping users in Australia, ”he emphasized.
Chalmers also competed for his compatriot Mack Horton, who refused to share the podium of the 400m freestyle at the 2019 World Cup with the Chinese winner Sun Yang, who already had a (short) doping suspension at the time. The Chinese has now been suspended for eight years. Horton called Sun Yang “a doping user” and also refused to shake his hand. He would later have received death threats from followers of the Chinese.
Photo: AFP
“Mack was a source of inspiration for me by standing up against Sun Yang,” said Chalmers. “It took a lot of courage to do that and it was a scary time for him. But in the meantime, the situation has completely reversed. Mack now receives support from the Chinese, who have turned against Sun Yang. “
Although the (alleged) doping use of some competitors frustrates him, according to Chalmers it is also a motive to rise above himself. “I just want to beat everyone when I have to. I don’t care what they have in their system, I still want to be better than them. ”
