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One-hit wonder? Olympic champ Kyle Chalmers ready to rise again

He cuts an imposing figure; feet that belong in the NBA, a bull chest that gives him the power to mow down tiring rivals in the final lap, like a marine Kingston Town.

Somehow, he hopes to fly under the radar over the next four days, given his lack of racing and lack of dealings with the media. It's wishful thinking and Chalmers knows it.

"I'd like to think I am [under the radar] in a way. I haven't done a whole lot of media leading into this. You have guys coming out and speaking in the media and that gets their name in the conversation again. I think I am almost flying under the radar … we're up here on the Gold Coast, Cam's [McEvoy] home town as well," Chalmers said. "I'm all on top of the heart, I haven't had any problems since the surgery, which is very exciting for me. It's something I no longer have to worry about standing behind the blocks or in training. I'm primed to race."

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Chalmers said he heard rumours, perhaps from hopeful rivals, for him to prove that Rio wasn't a random lightning strike, never to be repeated again. That's part of the reason he is setting up for a booming year, beginning at the Commonwealth Games then against rising American star Caeleb Dressel at the Pan Pacs in August in Japan.

"Nobody wants to be remembered as a one-hit wonder. That's something that has played in the back of my mind, I've heard that now and again from people. It's just people trying to get into your head … you hear the rumours," Chalmers said. "My goal is to qualify, first or third. It doesn't matter to me. It's something I've got my mind and heart set on. This is probably the best mental and physical shape I've been in since the Olympics."

Chalmers will have a serious tilt at the 200m to start the meet on Wednesday, adding the event to his schedule late and expecting a momentous challenge from another Olympic champion, Horton, as well as some of the audacious youngsters ready to make their name.

Teenager Clyde Lewis tops the seeding, from Horton, 17-year-old Elijah Winnington and then Chalmers. McEvoy has been seeded ninth on recent times. Chalmers expects the times to be at a historic low.

"The 200m field, you've got David McKeon who is one of our best freestylers and he's ranked 11th. Cam is right down the order as well. Tomorrow [Wednesday] will be fast heats, probably the fastest we've seen in the history of Australian 200m freestyle, so you are going to have to be on," he said.

"Hopefully I can qualify for a final, that's the goal. I haven't done a lot of 200 work. I have to swim my own race and make sure I don't get caught out like last year."

Chalmers has every reason to believe he will live up to the hype that comes with Olympic success. Pressure, he said, comes only from within and even that has been tempered by being a year older and having emerged from the post-Olympic hurricane.

"It has started to get back to normal. This is probably the first comp I've rolled back into without the pressure … I've just been able to do my own thing," he said.

"I'm excited to race, which was something I wasn't experiencing as much last year because I knew there was a lot more pressure on me. I probably put that pressure on myself. Now I've gone back to basics and trying to prepare in a way I know that works for me.

"I got a bit stressed out, which I'm not really used to. This year, I don't really care. I've dealt with it now and I know what I have to do to stay in my head and do my thing, rather than what everyone else expects."

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