Commonwealth Games star Kyle Chalmers has slammed "false headlines" about him and other Australian swimmers, threatening his 'time in the sport will be finished' if they don't stop.
Reports suggested Chalmers—who won gold in the 100-metre freestyle at the Rio 2016 Olympics —and ex-girlfriend Emma McKeon kept a distance from one another as they won 4x100m freestyle mixed relay gold on Friday. However, both swimmers have since rejected those claims, with Chalmers insisting he "definitely said congratulations" to McKeon after she completed the last leg of their relay victory.
Reports of a 'love triangle' emerged after singer-turned-swimmer Cody Simpson confirmed earlier in July that he was now dating McKeon. Chalmers, 24, took to Instagram and said his mental health was "at rock bottom," and that the ordeal had left him at "breaking point."
"After trials I sat down and assessed whether I was going to continue on in the sport because I have given everything to this country, I have given everything to my sport," Chalmers told reporters after he won gold with the men’s 4x100m freestyle team on Saturday evening.
"I was so proud at trials, winning my 10th national title, fifth in a different event, just coming back from my shoulder surgery. But instead of focusing on the positives, you guys want to focus on the negatives again."
Simpson, 25, will receive a 4x100m gold of his own despite not lining up in Saturday's final, though he featured in the heats earlier in Birmingham. Chalmers burst onto the Olympic scene at 18 years of age and wrote that he was "your poster boy from 2016 and I’m your villain in 2022."
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Reports in Australia also speculated on Chalmers opting to reverse his decision to skip the butterfly at the World Aquatics Championships in June, which cost Simpson his place on the team. However, 'King Kyle' said there was nothing malicious about his choice.
"I swim butterfly because that’s my event growing up, that's what I almost qualified for my first team on," added Chalmers. "I wanted to have fun this year, swim a stroke that I haven't been able to do for a long time because my body has held me back, and to qualify for world championships was amazing.
"I say good luck to Cody [Simpson of Australia], I say good job to Cody. I sent him a message after the race. I do nothing but be as positive as I possibly can. I support him on the team but again people just want clickbait on the article."
Simpson and McKeon, 28, recently addressed their relationship in an Australian television interview. There, Simpson—who formerly dated Miley Cyrus and model Gigi Hadid —said he "always saw [McKeon] as this special person to me."
He added that he "always acknowledged there was a connection that we had," though it was another year before they became official. Chalmers has been portrayed as a jealous ex in some circles, but he's now taking a stand.
The former junior superstar also told reporters the "next story will unfold eventually." He's focused on his medal quest in Birmingham for the time being, but Chalmers has also said he 'wants to be on a plane home' amid what he referred to as an "overwhelming and upsetting" ordeal.
