Swim king Kyle Chalmers reveals he was headhunted by one of Australia’s top footy teams AFTER he won his first Olympic gold

Aussie swim king Kyle Chalmers has sensationally revealed he could have quit swimming and joined the Geelong Cats.

Chalmers, 26, was a promising junior footy player in South Australia – but he never really considered a career chasing a Sherrin.

Until 2020.

With the Tokyo Olympics postponed due to the Covid pandemic, Chalmers was battling a shoulder injury.

Then he was told out of the blue that Geelong were keen for a chat. 

‘A mate of mine, Scotty Darlow, spoke to me and he said, ‘[Former Cats Talent ID manager] Troy Selwood actually wants to talk to you about going to Geelong,’ Chalmers, a three-time Olympian, told the Howie Games podcast.

‘And I was like, this has to be a joke. But I’ll sit down and do it, like whatever, I’ll do the Zoom call. 

‘And I got on Zoom and did this two-hour recruitment thing about going to Geelong as a Category B rookie, and if I was going to do that it had to be after the Olympics in 2021, otherwise I would be too old.’

Chalmers (pictured with fiancée Ingeborg Loyning) was a promising junior footy player in South Australia – but he never considered a career chasing a Sherrin until a Zoom call in 2020

Chalmers – a three-time Olympian – now admits playing AFL footy was probably unlikely

A youthful Kyle Chalmers after winning the men’s 100m freestyle final at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games

Chalmers – whose father Brett played AFL for Adelaide and Port Adelaide – at the time seriously considered throwing away his goggles and swimming cap.

Until his close mate Sam Jacobs – on the books of the Crows at the time – stressed it was unlikely Chalmers would ever play senior footy.

‘Sauce’ (Jacobs) really put it at me and said, ‘Well, do you really want to go from being No.1 or No.2 in the world in your sport, to being 45th on an AFL list and probably never playing a game?’

‘I went, ‘Yeah that’s actually a very good point, you’re right’.

‘So that was kind of when the dream, the bubble, just burst, and I went, ‘You know what, I actually really love swimming, I love being one of the best swimmers in the world.

‘I love my lifestyle, I love the opportunities it’s given me travelling around the world, so stuff the footy.’

Selwood admitted it was an audacious move, and is adamant Chalmers made the right decision.

Chalmers, 26, also hasn’t ruled out an appearance at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.