Aussie swim champ Kyle Chalmers has swapped his swimming trunks for a high-vis vest as he explores a new career as a tradie.
The Olympic gold medallist revealed he had recently picked up the tools for some part-time labouring work in Adelaide.
‘This year I have challenged myself to put myself into the workforce, which is something I’ve never done,’ he told the In Your Lane Podcast.
Aussie swimmer Kyle Chalmers (pictured) has been doing part-time labouring work in Adelaide
‘I’ve been labouring on a building site a couple of days a week in an area I’ve never worked a day in my life’.
The 25-year-old admitted stepping into the workforce had been a challenge but added the move had helped him connect with himself again as he prepares for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
‘It’s something I’m loving and just putting myself out of my comfort zone again. Just finding Kyle the person again and reconnecting myself,’ he said.
‘I love being in my high-vis because when I’m walking around in my normal clothes people will know who I am.
‘Everywhere I go I get stopped or looked at like an animal in a zoo at times.
‘I’ve got the bald head now, I’ve got the long tattoos and the high-vis, people just think I’m another tradie.’
Chalmers said he’s ‘found his calling’ with the tools and said it could even be a part of what he chooses to do after he’s finished with the pool.
The 25-year-old admitted stepping into the workforce had been a challenge but added the move had helped him connect with himself again as he prepares for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games
Chalmers who hails from Port Lincoln, around 650 kilometres west of Adelaide, has previously hinted that the Paris games might be his last Olympics but plans to compete at the world championships.
He shot to fame and put his name on the map when he claimed gold in the 100metre freestyle at the Rio Games in 2016, aged just 18.
The South Australian claimed silver at the event in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Chalmers (pictured) shot to fame after he took home the gold medal in the 100metre freestyle at the 2016 Rio games
During the Commonwealth Games in 2018, Chalmers broke several records in the pool and took home three gold medals in the 200metre freestyle, the 4x100metre medley relay, and the 4x200metre freestyle relay.
He backed that up by winning a gold, silver and bronze medal at the World Championships in 2019.
He hasn’t ruled out competing in Los Angeles where the 2028 Olympics will be held.
