Commonwealth Games LIVE: This Aussie swimmer thinks he can be the best in the world – and he’s gunning for a teammate

Rising swimming star Flynn Southam has thrown down the gauntlet to Australian relay teammate Kyle Chalmers by declaring that he can beat the Dolphins veteran for the first time and that a fresh mindset has him convinced he can become the best in the world.

Amid Australia’s flurry of gold medals on the opening night of competition in Glasgow, Southam’s lead-off leg in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay had swimming fans salivating at the prospect of what he could achieve individually.

The 21-year-old slashed six 10ths of a second off his 100m freestyle personal best on Friday night, lowering it from 47.69 at last year’s Australian trials to 47.09.

The swim left him just 0.01 seconds shy of Chalmers’ lifetime best of 47.08, achieved in 2019 and 2021, and only 0.05 outside Cam McEvoy’s Australian record of 47.04. Eamon Sullivan, who clocked 47.05 in 2008, is the only faster Australian, while Southam’s performance ranks him 11th on the all-time list.

While Pan Zhanle’s world record of 46.40, set at the 2024 Paris Olympics, remains some way ahead, Southam’s breakthrough has sparked genuine belief within Australian swimming that Chalmers’ decade-long grip on the event may finally be under threat.

Since winning Olympic gold as an 18-year-old in Rio in 2016, Chalmers has been Australia’s undisputed benchmark in the 100m freestyle. That reign could face its biggest challenge yet on Tuesday (UK time) – heats and semi-finals are a day earlier on Monday – when he lines up against a swimmer seven years his junior.

Asked whether he believed he could beat Chalmers, Southam did not hesitate.

“Yeah, 100 per cent. I’d be a fool to say I don’t think I can do that. I back myself every chance I get,” Southam said.

“Kyle’s a great racer, and I’m really looking forward to it. I just did the 50 [freestyle] then and it’s a good show of speed after a big night last night. Anything is possible.”

Southam said his confidence stemmed from a significant shift in mindset after years of playing second fiddle to Chalmers and falling short of making his mark individually on the international stage. Southam didn’t get an individual 100m freestyle spot for Australia at the 2024 Olympics and finished a disappointing 12th at last year’s world championships.

“I felt super confident coming in. I know if I stick to my process, I’m the best swimmer in the world,” Southam said. “That’s a different type of mentality I’ve had to any other competition before. I’ve always thought [about] getting second here or third or getting top four. On Friday it was come out blazing and just win.

“There was disappointment at trials. I really wanted to win and do a really good time at trials. I took that second place in the 100 personally and it’s really lit that fire under my belly. I’m just excited to go fast and be an aggressive racer.”

The last time Chalmers was beaten in a domestic 100m freestyle race was in 2017 by McEvoy at Australian trials. Since then, Chalmers has claimed back-to-back Olympic silver medals in Tokyo and Paris, becoming just the second man in more than a century to win three Olympic medals in the blue riband event.

Southam’s emergence also comes at a time when the men’s 100m freestyle is enjoying one of its strongest eras. Romania’s David Popovici swam 46.51 to win last year’s world title in Singapore ahead of American Jack Alexy (46.81).

Of the seven men to have broken the 47-second barrier, Pan, Popovici, Alexy and Russia’s Egor Kornev are the only swimmers still competing.

With two years until the Los Angeles Olympics, Southam said Friday night’s breakthrough was only the beginning.

“I was saying to my family I’m kind of not surprised. I’ve been training so hard for that,” Southam said. “I’ve gone through every single setback you can imagine to achieve a time like that. The thing is I feel like it’s not my peak. I’ve got plenty more to give. I’m not worried about times or medals or anything. I just want to go in there and be really fast.”

McEvoy admitted he was surprised his Australian record had survived this long, but not by Southam’s rapid rise.

“He’s been in our training group on staging, and he’s done some crazy stuff,” McEvoy said. “Not only just crazy in the sense of like throwing it down max, but coasting back and still dropping some insane times. I knew he was due. I didn’t quite expect a jump to 47.09 so fast. In hindsight, what he’s been doing probably actually would would speak to something even a bit quicker.

“Flynn, Kyle … someone will get it soon.”

Hello sports fans, we are back on the tools for the third official day of competition in Glasgow. There’s so much Aussie action coming today – let’s get into it.