Cody Simpson insists all is well in the Australian Commonwealth Games locker room, despite an awkward meeting in the mixed freestyle relay.
The latest development in Australian swimming’s so-called love triangle saw sprint king Kyle Chalmers and Olympic legend Emma McKeon avoid each other as the 4x100m medley relay team celebrated their medal d ‘or swimming on the pool deck and during the medal presentation on Saturday morning.
Australian swimming great James Magnussen described as “awkward” the sight of McKeon and Chalmers politely keeping their distance from each other.
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The Aussie medley relay team during the medal ceremony. Image: Michael KleinSource: News Corp Australia
Chalmers was the only member of the Australian team who did not walk to the starting blocks to congratulate McKeon after she touched the wall to seal the relay victory. The couple also never hugged while doing TV interviews and leaving the pool deck. However, McKeon was the last swimmer out of the pool and had to catch up with her teammates.
Chalmers and McKeon dated for a few months. Their relationship became public knowledge in September.
It was first revealed in May that Simpson and McKeon were in a relationship and had even moved in together during a training camp.
Simpson addressed the apparent friction between McKeon after his swim in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay, a swim that almost guarantees him a medal when the Australian team swims in the final on Sunday morning (AEST), assuming no change due to disasters or disqualification.
Simpson has now revealed that he did not witness the situation that unfolded after the medley relay win, but said he has spoken to Chalmers during the Birmingham Games.
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Australia’s golden moment. Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images. Source: Getty Images
His comment came after teammate and Olympic champion Elijah Winnington said Chalmers may have been showing respect to Simpson and McKeon by staying away from the five-time Olympic gold medalist.
Simpson said: “I don’t know. We’re all teammates.
“I’m not sure how she or he dealt with it, but behind the scenes and in the warm-up we’ve all been teammates and supported each other no matter what it’s been.
“I can only speak to what I’ve seen of Emma and we’re all doing pretty well so far.”
He said the atmosphere inside the Australian dressing room has not been affected by the dynamic between McKeon, Chalmers and himself.
“We just do all the normal teammate things and support each other,” he said.
“We want to create a really good atmosphere over there and on deck as well. We’re all here with a combined purpose.
“It’s fine. I guess it’s just like any other team. I mean this is my first one, but I can’t imagine any other team being much different.”
All eyes will be on Simpson in Birmingham. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
The dynamic led to widespread speculation about Chalmers’ relationship with Simpson when the pair competed against each other at the Australian swimming championships. In an incredible twist, Chalmers reversed his earlier decision to skip his butterfly events at the World Swimming Championships. It was a decision that ultimately cost Simpson a spot on the team as the third fastest swimmer at the Australian selection trials in the 100m butterfly.
Chalmers, the 100m freestyle gold medalist at the Rio Olympics, earlier slammed any suggestion that his butterfly backflip was in any way motivated by the so-called love triangle. He called the rumors “pathetic.”
Simpson also said in May that Chalmers had contacted him to clear the air about his decision to enter the butterfly at the world championships.
The so-called love triangle made headlines again this week after McKeon and Simpson opened up about their relationship in a TV interview.
Simpson admitted he was in love with the 28-year-old for a while before acting on his feelings.
“You know, when you meet someone, you just recognize that there’s something there. I always saw her as this special person to me. As a human in general, quite inspiring,” Simpson told Channel 7 Protagonism last week.
“There’s something there that we obviously didn’t explore back then.
“I always recognized there was a connection we had. But we didn’t act on it until what ended up being a year later.”
The 25-year-old’s journey from music artist to swimming star has captivated Australia this year since qualifying for the Commonwealth Games at the Australian Swimming Championships in May.