Swimming champion Kyle Chalmers undergoes a THIRD surgery to stop his rapid heartbeat – and remains hopeful of competing at the next Olympics
- Reigning Olympic 100m freestyle champion Kyle Chalmers had heart surgery
- He posted a picture from his recovery hospital bed to social media on Monday
- He suffers from supraventricular tachycardia a non-life threatening condition
- Among the show of support was his American swimming rival Caeleb Dressel
Olympic swimming champion Kyle Chalmers has undergone a third operation to stop his heart from beating as fast as 200 times a minute.
The 100m freestyle gold medallist posted a picture of himself in his hospital recovery bed to social media on Monday.
‘Third time lucky, fingers crossed today’s heart surgery fixed the problem once and for all. Thanks again everyone for the love and support,’ Chalmers captioned the photo.
The Olympic 100m freestyle gold medallist posted a picture of himself in his hospital recovery bed to social media on Monday
The outpouring of support for Chalmers also included that of his swimming rival Caeleb Dressel (pictured with girlfriend)
Chalmers, 21, suffers from supraventricular tachycardia – a non life-threatening condition that makes his heart beat abnormally fast.
The condition can make his heart beat as fast a 200 times a minute – other symptoms include light headedness, loss of balance and fatigue.
The outpouring of support for Chalmers also included that of his swimming rival Caeleb Dressel.
Barely a month after his successful 2019 world titles campaign, the Australian sprinter had the operation on Monday to treat a heart condition first diagnosed at the age of 12 ‘once and for all’.
He is confident he has ample time to recover and defend his Olympic title in Tokyo next year .
The Tokyo selection trials will not be held until June 2020 in his home base of Adelaide.
Chalmers has shown he can bounce back from heart surgery in the past.
Chalmers last had the operation back in 2017, missing that year’s world titles after having an episode while competing at the 2016 Australian short course titles in Brisbane.
Australian olympic swimming legend Kyle Chalmers has undergone a third operation to stop his heart from beating as fast as 200 times a minute (pictured with girlfriend)
However, he made a triumphant return at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games by claiming five medals including four gold.
He arguably made his biggest impact at that year’s Pan Pacs in Tokyo where he dethroned world champion Caeleb Dressel of the United States to win 100m freestyle gold amidst a four-medal haul.
The stage is set for an epic 100m freestyle showdown at the Tokyo 2020 Games after Chalmers clocked 47.08 seconds – third on the Australian all-time list.
He was pipped by Dressel at July’s world titles at South Korea in the flagship event – further fueling their sporting rivalry.
Chalmers was also part of Australia’s winning 4x200m freestyle team at Gwangju, collecting a total of five medals at the world titles.
Dressel (pictured with girlfriend) and Chalmers will be set to settle their sporting rivalry in the pool at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games