Kyle Chalmers set hearts racing when he flashed home to nab gold in the Rio Olympic pool. Now his own heart must go into overdrive as surgeons try to find the cause of a condition that will rule him out of this year's FINA world championships.
Chalmers will join the lengthening list of leading Australian swimmers avoiding the event in Budapest, but his reasons are more serious than simply conserving energy for next year's home Commonwealth Games.
The Adelaide 18-year-old suffers from supraventricular tachycardia, which quickens the heart to abnormally fast levels due to dysfunctional areas of conductive tissue. Episodes can cause dizziness, a lack of breath and chest pain.
Chalmers has had a previous operation for SVT and withdrew from the Australian short-course finals late last year due to symptoms. It is not uncommon for sufferers to undergo more than one procedure.
This time, doctors will attempt to stimulate his heart into tachycardia, which could see it reach 200 beats per minute. They will then try to identify the cause and eliminate the areas of heart tissue causing the misfire.
If successful, the procedure – known as cardiac ablation – could virtually eradicate the condition for Chalmers, although medical staff have told him there may be more operations down the track.
"I have been swimming with an ongoing heart condition known as supraventricular tachycardia and have increasingly begun to suffer from an abnormally fast heart rhythm during training and competitions, which now requires surgery," Chalmers said.
"I have had a surgery in the past and unfortunately, it did not work.
"Whilst the timing for this follow up is not ideal, the symptoms have reached a point where I must act to ensure I am in peak physical condition for next year's Commonwealth Games trials and hopefully the Commonwealth Games."
The world championships, particularly those held the year after the Olympics, are having less and less appeal for the world's best swimmers, with Cate Campbell and James Magnussen among the Australians also standing down.
That represents a small sacrifice for Chalmers, who wants to be fit for a match race with Cameron McEvoy on the Gold Coast next April. McEvoy recently beat Chalmers in the 100-metres freestyle final at the national championships in Brisbane.
Dolphins head coach Jacco Verhaeren supported the long-term plan of Chalmers, which revolves around the Commonwealth Games and Tokyo 2020 Olympic cycle.
"We are at the beginning of a new Olympic cycle, and for some of our athletes we need to look at longevity to allow them to stay at the highest level for longer," Verhaeren said.
"Kyle has our full support and we know he will use this time away from competition positively and to his advantage to return for a home Commonwealth Games in 2018 and beyond."
Chalmers said the condition had hampered him in his past three meets and he eventually withdrew from Budapest on the advice of doctors.
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