PR94619

TOLENTINO, Italy, Feb. 22 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

arena is pleased to announce that Olympic 2016 freestyle champion and 2020

silver medallist Kyle Chalmers has joined its Elite Team. The collaboration

means that the 23-year-old Australian will represent the Italian brand at the

Paris Olympics in 2024.

"So excited to be joining the Arena family," said Kyle. "It's such a

prestigious company; I have wanted to wear their suits for a long time, and I'm

honoured they're welcoming me to their strong group of ambassadors. Their

products are the best in the business, and I'm excited for the next chapter. I

know they will take me to the next level."

Growing up, Kyle had a natural affinity for sports, not least Australian rules

football, and it wasn't until shortly before his breakout season in 2015 that

he decided to focus on swimming.

Kyle kicked off 2015 by becoming the youngest swimmer (at 17) to break 49

seconds in the 100 freestyle at the Australian Swimming Championships. He made

his international debut at the World Championships in Kazan, and won his first

international medal as part of the 4x100 medley relay team. A few weeks later

at the FINA World Junior Championships in Singapore, he won 7 medals from 7

events, including the 50 and 100 freestyle titles.

In his first Olympics in Rio 2016, Kyle broke the 100 freestyle junior world

record three times, and swam a sensational second 50 in the final – turning in

seventh position at the halfway mark – to out-touch a highly experienced field

to take gold. It was the first time since 1968 that an Australian won the

Olympic 100 free title.

Kyle missed the 2017 World Championships to undergo surgery for a heart

condition, but returned to competition the same year. The following year at the

Commonwealth Games on Australia's Gold Coast, he won the 200 freestyle, picked

up silver in the 100 freestyle, and helped the men's teams sweep all three

relays. Several months later at the Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo, he

snagged the 100 freestyle gold and added two silvers and a bronze in the men's

relays.

At the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju, Kyle added another relay title with

the 4x200 freestyle gold, along with the 100 freestyle silver in 47.08 – a

personal best – and silver and bronze relay medals.

Kyle's preparations for the postponed Olympics in Tokyo were hampered by

further surgery to his heart in 2019 and his shoulder in 2020, but he returned

in 2021 to defend his freestyle title. Swimming in lane 7 in the final, his

scorching second 50 of 24.37s saw him almost catch winner Caeleb Dressel as he

claimed silver, equalling his personal best. He also won two relay bronze

medals.

A few months later, Kyle set another milestone – a short course world record of

44.84s in 100 freestyle, breaking a mark that had stood for nearly 13 years.

Unfortunately he missed the World Short Course Championships in Abu Dhabi to

have another shoulder operation so that he's ready for 2022, which includes the

Commonwealth Games in July/August in Birmingham.

"Bringing Kyle into the arena fold is a big boost for us," said Deputy CEO

Giuseppe Musciacchio.  "At just 23 years of age he has already accomplished so

much. He has a really bright future ahead of him, and we'd like to be part of

it, helping him as best we can to achieve his full potential. Australia is an

important market for us, so this new partnership will serve to strengthen our

ties and work towards growing the sport across the nation."

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1750838/arena_Kyle_Chalmers.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1693019/Arena_Sport_Logo.jpg

Contact:

Cristina Cantoni

Email: c.cantoni@arenasport.com

T: +39 334 6879249

Source: arena