Cody Simpson has played down any suggestions of bad blood between he and Kyle Chalmers, revealing a conversation with the six-time Olympic medallist.
Speculation had swirled regarding the relationship between the pair after Chalmers backflipped on his initial decision to sit out of the FINA world championships in Budapest, denying Simpson a chance to participate at the tournament in the process.
Chalmers hit out at claims from the media that his decision was based around Simpson’s relationship with Olympic star Emma McKeon.
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However, Simpson gave an insight into he and Chalmers’ relationship, explaining how his teammate had reached out to clear the air.
“We had a chat last night,” Simpson told Amazon Prime Video.
“He was cool, he sort of reached out and we sort of cleared the air about it. So it’s all good in that sense. I would sort of respect his decision either way.
“I sort of realised he’d changed his mind as he has every right to do obviously.
“He has the spot. I didn’t finish second, I finished third. So for him to have done that (finished second) especially with the limited prep he has had is pretty remarkable.”
While Simpson has enjoyed a mostly positive meet at the Australian Swimming Championships this week, he was brought back down to earth in the men’s 100m freestyle final.
The 25-year-old was initially disqualified during the heats before being allowed to race from lane eight following a successful protest.
Despite swimming a personal best time of 49.34, Simpson finished last in the final, which did not include the likes of Chalmers, Cameron McEvoy and Alexander Graham.
Young gun William Yang took out the 100m freestyle final with a time of 48.55, edging out Zac Incerti and Flynn Southam.