Commonwealth Games: Ian Thorpe pinpoints Kyle Chalmers’ crucial mistake as Aussies lose medley race

Aussie gold medallist Kyle Chalmers made a small but pivotal mistake that could have cost Australia another victory in the pool at Birmingham, according to Olympic legend Ian Thorpe.

Swimming the final, freestyle leg of the men’s 4x100m medley relay, Chalmers looked to have closed the gap to England’s Tom Dean, only to fall short by just .08 of a second in a photo finish.

Thorpe said his fellow Aussie made an error by breathing on the wrong side of his body, which meant he couldn’t keep an eye on his British rival as the race went down to the wire.

The error meant Chalmers couldn’t keep his eyes on his rival, who looked to be just behind the Australian before beating him out by just .08 of a second

Had he been breathing on his left side, he would have been able to keep track of exactly where his rival was placed, and raced accordingly. 

‘If you can see what’s going on, it may have been a different result,’ Thorpe said in commentary for Channel Seven.

‘(It’s) similar to what happened in the 100m final at the Olympics.’

In that race, Chalmers was just beaten out by America’s Caleb Dressel, who touched the wall just .06 of a second ahead.

The silver capped off a dramatic week for Chalmers (left), who won three golds but also clashed with the media over his pool love triangle with ex Emma McKeon and Cody Simpson 

Thorpe also pointed out that the 24-year-old had made the same mistake with his breathing at the time.  

‘I gave it everything I possibly could,’ Chalmers said after the race saw him end his turbulent week with three gold medals and a silver.

‘It would have been nice standing on top of the podium but it’s a good way to finish the week.’

Chalmers put his fingers to his lips in a gesture that suggested he was silencing his critics after taking gold in the 100m freestyle at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Tuesday.

The pointed gesture came as the 24-year-old continued to hit back at the media’s treatment of the pool love triangle featuring Cody Simpson and his ex-flame Emma McKeon.

Chalmers threatened to quit swimming over ‘false news’ around the pool love triangle featuring him, his ex Emma McKeon and Cody Simpson (pictured together in Birmingham) in a week of high drama at the Commonwealth Games 

In a post-race interview Chalmers said he had been planning the celebration before he had even made it to the blocks and gave fans an insight into his mental state.

‘It’s something I’ve envisaged myself doing, probably a bit more of a powerful celebration after a win, but that one was a special one,’ Chalmers said.

‘That probably means more than giving it a fist bump or a tensing of the muscles. I hope that sends a powerful message.’

Last Sunday he threatened to quit the sport if he continued to be the subject of ‘false news’ around the reported feud between himself and Simpson over McKeon.

‘It’s all just false news that is actually just crap, it’s honestly just a load of s*** that is not true,’ Chalmers said. 

The swim star also denied rumours of a rift with McKeon following their awkward chemistry during the 4x100m freestyle mixed relay on Friday.

Australia were the only nation not to hold hands and raise them in unison pre-race while Chalmers was the only teammate who was not seen shaking McKeon’s hand following their win.