Australian Kyle Chalmers won three medals in swimming at the 2016 Rio Olympics, taking bronze in both the 4x100m medley, and freestyle relays, and winning a gold in the men’s 100m freestyle.
While winning the gold medal was assuredly the highlight of Chalmers’ time in Brazil, his second most memorable experience might have been meeting NBA superstar Kevin Durant. Chalmers is apparently a big NBA fan and watches KD’s 2014 MVP speech for motivation before every race, so meeting the Warriors’ superstar was a huge deal to him. Via: The Mercury News:
“Last night I was walking over to my semifinals and Kevin Durant walked in front of me,” Chalmers told reporters in Rio, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. “To be honest with you I almost vomited. My jaw dropped. I was that excited and nervous. It was just amazing for me.”
On top of meeting him in-person, just hours before the final of the 100m freestyle, Chalmers got an Instagram video from Durant himself in which KD told Chalmers he “had skills” and that he hoped he did well in the race despite his allegiance to America.
Of course, Chalmers ended up doing quite well indeed, taking home the gold medal, which included beating Durant’s countryman, Nathan Adrian (and Belgian Peiter Timmers), by less than half-a-second in the final. Perhaps the queasiness at meeting his favorite basketball player is what gave him that slight edge at the end.
(Via: The Mercury News)
