Kyle Chalmers has reclaimed his favourite part of the pool – the final 10 metres, the House of Pain – to co-headline a brilliant night of swimming for Australia at the Pan Pacs in Tokyo.
Soon after Cate Campbell dropped a 52.03s swim to dominate the women’s 100m freestyle, Chalmers swamped a field that included America's world champion Caeleb Dressel to ensure an Australian double.
Renewed confidence: Kyle Chalmers enjoys victory in the men’s 100m freestyle final.
The Australian women would later add a third gold when a gutsy Madeline Groves somehow held off American superwoman Katie Ledecky to anchor the 4x200m freestyle relay to victory. It was an Australian record and handed the USA their first defeat at a big meet since 2009.
After years of recent domination, slowly the embers of a genuine Australia-USA rivalry in the pool are starting to glow once more. Chalmers, who stunned the world as a teenager in Rio, was at the vanguard once again.
Storming home: Kyle Chalmers churns through the water in the 100m freestyle final.
His time of 48s flat wasn't his quickest but the 20-year-old Olympic champion hasn't taken long to work out the clock isn't the enemy when the pressure descends at a major meet.
He turned last but bounded off the wall, worked his way through the field and by the time the end was in sight, flexed his muscle to take the win ahead of Dressel and Dolphins teammate Jack Cartwright, who tied for silver win swims of 48.22s.
"It is very pleasing. The time isn’t the best I’ve ever swum but it’s all about winning. And that’s all people are going to remember, who is the champion. To stand up and win, I wasn’t able to do that at Commonwealth Games but to do it here is very special to me," Chalmers said.
"This morning [after heats], I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face with how I swam. I was beginning to doubt myself that little bit in the 100m. That gives me a lot of confidence looking forward.
"I haven’t done a whole lot of 100m work but I’m a competitor. Once I stand behind those blocks I want to win and I’ll do whatever I can to get on the wall first. Luckily tonight, I was able to do that."
Chalmers just missed out at the Commonwealth Games to Scotland's world-class sprinter Duncan Scott, who was second in the European Championships this week.
But that familiar power over the latter stages of the race had been missing since his comeback from heart surgery after the Rio Games. Now it's back, with Chalmers loving that feeling of embracing the pain when the arms start to catch fire after 90m.
"I felt strong in that last 10m, which is probably the thing I’ve lacked in the past 12 months, that finish. But to do that, I felt like I proved to myself that I can do the 100m and the 200m."
Anchorwoman: Madelin Groves celebrates after holding off her American rival to win gold in the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay.
Groves produced one of the swims of her career to hold off Ledecky, who looked for all money to have her in her sights with 50m left in the relay.
Australia were lead-off by Ariarne Titmus, who gave them a handy lead before Emma McKeon and Mikkayla Sheridan kept the distance for Groves.
Camaraderie: Ariarne Titmus, Emma McKeon, Madeline Groves and Mikkayla Sheridan embrace after earning bragging rights over the Americans.
Groves, a butterfly specialist who has battled health issues for the past 12 months, emptied the tank with the great freestyler breathing down her neck.
"I wasn’t really expecting to have such a lead. The girls did such a fantastic job. I really wanted to dig deep and fight hard and get to the wall first," Groves said.
Mitchell Larkin took bronze in the 100m backstroke but his former girlfriend Emily Seebohm went one better with a quality silver in her 100m event.
She had limited training as she tried to deal with the emotional toll of the split but just missed out to her great Canadian rival Kyle Masse, with US world record-holder Kathleen Baker third.
"It’s awesome to see that everything I have gone through was pretty worth it and to come here and tough it out and show that swimming is my passion," Seebohm said.
"It’s obviously not the easiest situation but I’ve held my head up high and I’ve come here despite everything and really showed what I can do.
"It helps me rise. If you asked me two weeks ago whether I’d be here to race, the answer would have been 50-50. So to get here and do it, despite everything, I’m stoked."
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