Rio de Janeiro: Before each race, Australian swimmer Kyle Chalmers had a little ritual.
He would watch NBA superstar Kevin Durant's inspiring 2014 MVP speech. It had worked pretty well to date.
At 18, he had made his first Olympic team. And at the expense of dual world champion James Magnussen, no less.
But before the Rio Olympic 100m freestyle final, Australian swimming team officials still thought they would compile their own video for Chalmers to watch.
It was his idol Durant - wishing Chalmers good luck.
History will show Chalmers clocked 47.58 seconds to claim Rio gold - Australia's first Olympic win in the event since 1968. It was a shock win - but its inspiration seems just as unlikely.
"I watch Kevin Durant's MVP speech before every single race and I watch a highlights video of him," Chalmers said. "Our team manager actually grabbed him last night and got a video of him saying he watched me swim and good luck which was really exciting.
"They actually had to show it to me this morning because they knew I wouldn't be able to focus if I saw it tonight before my race - I'm a big fan.
"The video was exciting. But it didn't quite stack up to the real thing - as Chalmers can now also vouch for.
"Last night I was walking over to my semi-finals and Kevin Durant walked in front of me," Chalmers gushed.
"To be honest with you I almost vomited. My jaw dropped. I was that excited and nervous.
"It was just amazing for me."
Durant was in the crowd with Team USA at the Rio Aquatics Centre on Tuesday night to cheer on US superstar Michael Phelps to 200m butterfly gold.
AAP
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