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Commonwealth Games: Ariarne Titmus says Cody Simpson, Kyle Chalmers love triangle affecting team emotionally

Ariarne Titmus has said the focus on the so-called swimming “love triangle” at the Commonwealth Games was taking its toll on the entire squad.

“It’s affecting us emotionally,” she said on Channel 10’s The Project on Thursday.

The Aussie team’s success in Birmingham has been overshadowed by speculation about relations between Kyle Chalmers, Emma McKeon and Cody Simpson.

Chalmers and McKeon dated for a few months. Their relationship first became common knowledge in September.

But it was revealed in May that Simpson and McKeon had become a couple and had even moved in together during a training camp.

Rumors of bad blood between the three surfaced when sprinting king Chalmers and Olympic legend McKeon appeared to avoid each other as the 4x100m mixed relay team celebrated their gold medal swim on the pool deck and during the medal presentations on Saturday morning.

Aussie swimming great James Magnussen described the sight of McKeon and Chalmers politely keeping their distance from each other as “awkward”.

All three have said there is no friction between them at all.

‘Affects us emotionally’

Swimming superstar Titmus appeared on The Project on Thursday after picking up four golds in the pool and helping break the world record in the 4x200m freestyle relay.

She was asked if the attention on the “love triangle” was hurting the team’s performance.

“We all certainly hear about it and it’s affecting our teammates so it affects us emotionally,” she told host Georgie Tunney.

“But I think we try to block it out. We’re such a close unit and we want to have each other’s backs and I think we did that this week.

“We want everyone to be happy and not going through those things so it did affect us but we certainly got through it.”

Titmus: ‘really proud’ at wins

Titmus said she was “low key confident” she would nab four gold medals in Birmingham but was nonetheless elated at her win.

“It’s crazy. I really feel proud and I’m so happy,” she told the hosts.

Grant Hackett revealed earlier this week that the trio at the center of the “love triangle” had sat down together over the storm that has swirled around them at the games.

He said media frenzy had indeed had an impact on the three swimmers, who all wanted to move on from it as soon as possible.

“They’re professionals, they’re teammates, they get along with each other, they respect each other where they need to, and they go out there and they execute performances for the country and they support one another,” he said on Nine’s TodayShow.

“This was a story that was back at the Commonwealth Games trials a couple of months ago, and the three of them put it to bed.

“Kyle’s come out very openly and said, this is a bunch of rubbish,” Hackett said.

“No one had any problems. They couldn’t believe the fuss around it.”

Meanwhile Simpson’s mother said she believed the swimmer is more than equipped to deal with the media scrutiny.

During an interview on Channel 7’s SunriseAngie Simpson claimed that the relentless media attention won’t bother her son, who previously dated American singer Miley Cyrus.

“I think he has been lucky because he has had so much history with press and media before, performing on stage for thousands of people,” she said on Wednesday morning AEST.

“I think the pressures of what he has dealt with in camp and at the Commonwealth Games has been pretty easy for him.

“It has given him an advantage to deal with a lot of those pressures and not let that stuff bother him.”

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Commonwealth Games 2022: Cody Simpson’s mum spills on ‘love triangle’ with Emma McKeon, Kyle Chalmers

Cody Simpson’s mother believes the Australian swimmer is more than equipped to deal with media scrutiny as his personal life continues to be put under the spotlight.

The pop icon picked up a gold medal in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay at the Commonwealth Games earlier this week, swimming in the heats before missing out on a spot in the final.

But Simpson’s relationship with Australian champion Emma McKeon has dominated the headlines, with the power couple embroiled in a reported “love triangle” with Olympic gold medalist Kyle Chalmers.

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During an interview on Channel 7’s SunriseAngie Simpson claimed that the relentless media attention won’t bother her son, who previously dated American singer Miley Cyrus.

“I think he has been lucky because he has had so much history with press and media before, performing on stage for thousands of people,” she said on Wednesday morning AEST.

“I think the pressures of what he has dealt with in camp and at the Commonwealth Games has been pretty easy for him.

“It has given him an advantage to deal with a lot of those pressures and not let that stuff bother him.”

Angie also confessed she was initially skeptical about her son’s return to competitive swimming.

“I feel like a bad mum… I just didn’t think he could transition from so many years of that to then go to such isolation,” she explained.

“But he proved me wrong and once he convinced me he wanted to do it I was 100 per cent behind him.”

Simpson began his swimming comeback journey in 2020 after 10 years away from the pool as something of a sideshow alley attraction — but the Queenslander has quickly proven he’s box-office on his swimming credentials alone.

On Wednesday, Simpson finished fifth in the men’s 100m butterfly final, with Dolphins teammate Matt Temple winning a silver medal.

The 25-year-old’s time of 52.06 seconds was the second-quickest of his career, but still outside his personal best of 51.79 seconds.

“I want to inspire young people to know that they can do whatever it is they want to do, even if they feel like it’s too late or they’re too old to pick something up, because it’s never too late,” Simpson told Channel 7 after the race.

“I think with experience comes confidence. And I’m still gathering the experience, so still gaining confidence.

“I am happy to be here. And I think, win or lose today, I’m going to go back to the drawing board and make sure I come back stronger. I’m already way ahead where I thought I would be at this stage.”

Earlier this week, Chalmers slammed the media for focusing on “clickbait” rather than the Dolphins’ impressive results in Birmingham, declaring he’s not sure he wants to continue in the sport if it means dealing with this kind of attention.

The 24-year-old — who has won three gold medals this week — has been forced to repeatedly deny there is any tension between himself, Simpson and McKeon, who was romantically linked to Chalmers last year.

After his golden swim in the 100m freestyle on Tuesday, Chalmers put his finger to his lips to silence the critics, revealing he’d planned the celebration to send a “powerful message” as he affirmed his desire not to let the media “win” .

“It’s all just false news that is actually just crap. It’s honestly just a load of s**t that is not true,” he said.

“I do nothing but be as positive as I possibly can. I support him on the team but, again, people just want clickbait on the article.

“It’s unfortunate that I can’t do anything right at this point in time.

“I think it’s fantastic that he’s here… it’s fantastic for our sport, it brings new viewers in. What he has achieved in two years of swimming is incredible.”

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Kyle Chalmers feeding Emma McKeon, Cody Simpson drama says Johanna Griggs

Former Australian swimmer turned popular TV presenter Johanna Griggs says Kyle Chalmers is “feeding” the very headlines he’s railed against at the Commonwealth Games as she issued a reality check about the media’s role in covering sport.

The swimming star has blasted the media in Birmingham, accusing it of focusing on “clickbait” rather than the impressive results of our men and women in the pool.

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There have been reports and speculation about an icy dynamic within the Dolphins camp, sparked by the relationship between Chalmers, Emma McKeon and Cody Simpson.

Chalmers and McKeon were romantically linked last year and now the 28-year-old superstar is dating Simpson — who is competing in England as part of his first ever Australian team since ditching his music career and returning to competitive swimming.

The trio have repeatedly denied their relationship has caused any friction.

Chalmers cast doubt on his future in the sport if what he called “fake headlines” continued to be thrust into the spotlight, saying the media doesn’t understand the impact his stories have on athletes’ mental health.

However, Griggs — who won a backstroke bronze medal at the 1990 Commonwealth Games — says Chalmers is only giving the story more oxygen by continually mentioning it in interviews and on social media.

“The only person who is going to potentially derail (his campaign) — although it certainly didn’t look like it this morning in his 100m freestyle — could be Kyle himself,” Griggs told Sydney’s 104.9 Triple M Breakfast with MG, Jess & Pagey.

“He seems to be feeding it, which is the ironic situation with all these sorts of things.

“You can’t just expect the headlines to always be great. You have to accept that occasionally they might be about other people and sometimes they may not necessarily show you in the same light.

“Do I think they (the headlines) are affecting Emma McKeon? Absolutely not.

“She’s amazing, right. So she’s proven, without question, that she is able to compartmentalize whatever’s going on.

Johanna Griggs dropped some truth bombs on Kyle Chalmers.
Johanna Griggs dropped some truth bombs on Kyle Chalmers.Source: Supplied
Chalmers is swimming brilliantly despite his concerns. Picture: Michael KleinSource: News Corp Australia

Griggs, who is part of Channel 7’s team covering the Games, also suggested the freestyle king needs to accept headlines aren’t always going to be positive in the world of professional sport.

“I think it would be tedious for them, being asked about it non-stop,” Griggs told Triple M.

“If you’re a tennis player, that happens not only at every major tournament, it happens at every press conference, it happens at every week — same as the footballers, week in, week out.

“It’s the reality of sport so I’m hoping Kyle stops feeding it.

“I get he’s feeling incredibly swamped at the moment. Every time he mentions it, he makes it a bigger story.”

Chalmers has won gold medals in Birmingham as part of Australia’s mixed relay team and in the 4x100m men’s freestyle relay.

After his impressive swim in the heats of the individual 100m freestyle event, the 24-year-old was asked how he was feeling.

“Terrible. Terrible. It’s been probably the hardest 12 hours in my sporting career for sure,” he said. “It is extremely hard. Extremely challenging.

“When you’re on the other side of the world and don’t have your direct support network around you it’s already hard enough, let alone last night.”

Chalmers was referring to the previous day’s press conference, which was stopped after a barrage of questions about his dynamic with Simpson and McKeon.

He said the way the situation has unfolded left his mum in tears when they spoke after the relay victory.

“I really feel I don’t deserve any of that and to be honest with you, it makes me question why I do this sport and where my future lies going forward,” Chalmers said.

“I don’t want any of this. I swim because it’s what I’m good at. I love swimming. I love being part of the Australian swimming team. Standing up in front of big crowds and swimming fast, but I don’t want the rest of it.

“And for me it’s taking too much of a toll on my mental health. It embarrasses me that my family, my grandparents have to sit down and read the stuff that gets put in the media.

“It upsets me that I have to go home to my mum crying on FaceTime to me.”

Emma McKeon’s relationship with Cody Simpson has generated plenty of headlines. Picture: Emma McKeon/InstagramSource: Supplied

He may be upset out of the water but in the pool, Chalmers looks as classy as ever. The South Australian — who won 100m freestyle gold at the Rio Olympics and silver at last year’s Tokyo Games — is eyeing off another medal in his pet event this week.

Chalmers crushed his 100m freestyle semi-final on Monday morning, touching the wall first and setting a new Commonwealth Games record time of 47.36 seconds.

Australian swimming champion Cate Campbell is working for Channel 7 in Birmingham and praised Chalmers for how he’s handling things during their poolside interview on Monday morning, before talk turned to his tattoos and what they symbolize.

“I’ve had three heart surgeries, I have a chain (tattoo) that is broken because my heart was holding me back and now it’s fixed,” Chalmers said.

“I’m the lion (tattoo) that’s broken out. So yeah, that’s a special one for me.”

Chalmers added he’s been brilliantly supported by those closest to him.

“I don’t have anything else to say, it’s rough,” he said. “It’s been a whirlwind. It’s nice to swim fast. I think it’s easy to put on a brave face and smile. It’s hard, it’s very hard.

“The team has been amazing.

“I just wanted to put my headphones on and switch off and not talk, (but) all of my teammates, coaches and staff coming up and saying they are there for me has been really special. I wouldn’t have been able to get through it without my teammates.

“I’m not a robot. We have feelings, we have emotions, we’re no different than anyone else. We struggle a lot, mental health is a huge thing in sport.”

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Commonwealth Games 2022: Shayna Jack bronze medal in 50m freestyle result, star breaks down in tears

Shayna Jack almost apologized for saying she was about to get emotional after her bronze medal swim. The 23-year-old comeback star has nothing to apologize for.

After a string of cruel injuries and a two-year doping ban, Jack on Monday morning enjoyed the single sweetest moment of her swimming career and was overcome with emotion.

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Jack missed out on gold in the women’s 50m freestyle final to Aussie superstar Emma McKeon, who won a mind-boggling 11th career gold medal.

It was an astonishing medal sweep for Australia with Meg Harris taking the silver, just 0.04 seconds ahead of Jack.

Jack has previously won world championship gold medals and a Commonwealth Games gold medal in relay events — but this was her first ever major individual swimming medal. You could tell as she fronted the press after the swim that it meant everything,

Jack had qualified fastest for the final and had some regret about missing out on the gold — but falling short against one of the greatest athletes of all time is nothing to be disappointed by.

She started her brief press conference by saying: “I’m just going to get emotional.

“Like it might not have been the result I wanted tonight, but I have to be really proud of how far I’ve come.

“It’s not been an easy journey. It’s been two major hiccups. Just to be standing here today and to be able to get on the podium with these two girls is actually such an honor. I probably can’t put into words how amazing it feels to be here.”

Jack said winning a gold medal in an individual event is the next thing for her to chase with plenty of fire in her belly.

“I have always loved being part of the relays but to progress and to be on the podium as an individual swimmer is second to none,” she said.

“I’m so proud of myself and these girls tonight. We gave it our all.

“I don’t think I’ve given myself that time to recognize how far I’ve come.”

It was an emotional night for the Aussie team with McKeon also briefly breaking down in tears after her historic achievement.

Jack’s emotion shows how far she has come.

She last month became a world champion after anchoring the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay team to gold in Budapest.

Jack was returning after the shock moment on the eve of the 2019 World Championships where it was revealed she had tested positive to anabolic agent Ligandrol.

Jack continually maintained her innocence and had her suspension cut in half by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in November 2020.

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