Kyle Lee’s Midas Touch Heralds Next Golden Wave Of Australian Open Water Stars And A New Olympic Event
In the euphoric celebrations of Australia’s nail-biting open water relay gold medal in Doha, a new star was born with 21-year-old Western Australian University student Kyle Lee’s flying fingernail finish.
Lee launched himself onto the international stage – his golden touch (by just 0.20 over Italy’s Domenico Acerenza) winning Australia the world 4x1500m title in a classic elbow-to-elbow scrap – an event now destined for the Olympic program in 2028 or 2032.
TOUCHDOWN: Kyle Lee out-touching Domenico Acerenza in a gripping 4x1500m open water relay finish in Doha. Photo Courtesy Wade Brennan (Wade’s Photos)
It gave Australia its first ever World Championship open water mixed relay gold (since 1998 when it was over 5km and 2022 with the introduction of the 6km format) and only its fourth official open water gold since its first FINA World Championships in Perth in 1991.
Australia’s swimming history is dotted with powerhouse relay anchor swims – none more famous than that of Neil Brooks, who slam dunked the USSR to win Olympic gold in the 4x100m medley relay in Moscow in 1980.
Lee’s fingernail touch over Italy’s Domenico Acerenza revived memories of Brooks final touch, like Lee, coming from behind to sink local Russian hero Sergei Kopliakov.
It was a finish that has gone down in the folklore of Australia’s proud Olympic history and made famous by the final moments of a legendary call by ABC sports commentator Norman May, screaming: “Gold…gold…gold to Australia.”
And of course, the feats of Lee’s namesake, Olympic champion, Kyle Chalmers who spearheaded Australia to its golden relay successes at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships in particular the 4x100m freestyle in Fukuoka last year.
Lee migrated to WA from Zimbabwe with his parents at age six, grew up near Bunbury – 170km south of Perth where he forged his swimming career, before the successful move to Perth’s North Shore Swim Club and the astute coaching of Ian Mills.
He went into Thursday’s open water relay on a high after his dynamic eighth place Olympic qualifying swim earlier in the week, making the cut for this year’s Paris Games where Australia will be one of the few teams with a full complement of four.
And Lee emerged after one of the most exciting finishes (and there have been some) hailed along with teammates Moesha Johnson, Nic Sloman and Chelsea Gubecka as the latest heroes of Australia’s Dolphins Swim Team.
THAT WINNING FEELING: Chelsea Gubecka could not hide her emotion after Kyle Lee’s gold medal winning touch. Photo Courtesy Wade Brennan (Wade’s Photos).
With the legendary tones of Aussie rock band ACDC blasting in the background, a very humble Lee praised his teammates after the race.
“It was so tight….my team put me in the best possible position so I could not ask any more of them and coming into the finish I knew Domenica was so strong throughout this competition. It wasn’t going to be easy, but I guess I got lucky on the touch,” said Lee.
“I knew I had to get on Domenica’s’s feet as quickly as possible (after taking over from Nic) He is such a strong swimmer so if I lost his feet it would have been so hard to catch up.
“It was not an easy thing to be around him, and it cost me a lot of power and speed in the finish…but I was just trying to keep the speed and be as fast as I could on the touch.
“I knew I just had to stay calm really – it is so hectic in that finishing shoot. (Just important) to remain calm and do the best I could do.
“It was so exciting to race today and to know you’re not swimming for yourself; you’re swimming for your country.
“Everyone swam so well so going into the water, they were wishing me the best of luck and I tried to do my best for them.”
It was a fitting finale to Australia’s finest week in open water swimming on the World Championship stage – the 16th World’s that has featured open water swimming – and the Australian relay team joining previous world champions Shelley Taylor-Smith (25km) 1991; Melissa Cunningham (25km) 1994 and Melissa Gorman (5km) 2009.
WHAT JUST HAPPENED: Kyle Lee and Moesha Johnson coming to terms with their World Championship win. Photo Courtesy Wade Brennan (Wade’s Photos).
Olympic qualifying swims in the 10km for Lee (eighth), Sloman (fifth) and Johnson (fourth), silver for Gubecka in the 5km and gold in the relay is a result of hard work and smart planning.
“I think we absolutely raised the bar within the last five years,” said Gubecka after her powerhouse second leg.
“I am proud of this team but even the juniors who are coming up wanting to be a part of this and we set the bar to that standard.
“We want these kids to come up and achieve that too. As far as we can continue the legacy especially with this relay, it really means something.”
And a long-awaited moment for Gubecka, a 2016 Rio Olympian who is celebrating more than a decade on the Australian team – in fact her seventh World Championships since her debut in Budapest in 2013 – who adds a special gold to her medal tally of one gold, two silver and one bronze – with the individual 5km silver in Doha after last year’s 10km Olympic qualifying silver in Fukuoka.
Sloman, who stuck to Italy’s World and Olympic champion Gregorio Paltrinieri like glue in the third leg, praising Swimming Australia, saying: “I think it is a credit to our Federation that we (have) improved so much in the last years, putting in the funding to be able to (enter) us in races that gives us the experience we need.
“It is not an easy journey (and it’s taken) us at least half a decade to get where we are, and I credit this to the whole team as they are all a great support and we have done a really good job today.”
ON TOP OF THE WORLD: Jubilant Aussie foursome (L-R) Nic Sloman, Kyle Lee, Moesha Johnson and Chelsea Gubecka. Photo Courtesy Wade Brennan (Wade’s Photos).
Opening leg swimmer, Johnson saying: “We won a bronze medal (in the relay) as the underdogs last year and that really has driven us to strive for bigger and better,” said Johnson.
“To be on top of the podium today against some really incredible nations is so special for all of us after an incredible week with our 10k swims.”
Taylor-Smith, one of the world’s most celebrated open water swimmers, has played such a key role in the continued development of open water and of the 10km marathon becoming an Olympic event for the first time in 2008.
She has been in Lee’s corner for his entire career in their home state WA, with Kyle the recipient of the Shelley Taylor-Smith WA Open Water Swimmer of the Year for the last three years, with the 1991 World Champion having watched the Mills coached rising star, grow, develop and mature.
“Kyle has been given an opportunity and he has taken it…and now he is on this Olympic team, anything is possible….and he is so, so humble….I am so proud of him, Moesha, Nic, Chelsea and all the team,” said Taylor-Smith.
“It reminds me of Kieren Perkins in that 1996 Olympic final in the 1500m freestyle…winning form lane eight. No one gave him a chance. But all he needed was a lane.”
And when will the open water relay be included on the Olympic program ?
ADVANCE AUSTRALIA: Kyle Lee, Nic Sloman, Chelsea Gubecka and Moesha Johnson celebrate the moment. Photo Courtesy Wade Brennan (Wade’s Photos).
Lee’s fighting finish with Acerenza could well fast track World Aquatics push to have the 4x1500m relay added to the Olympic program for the 2028 Olympic program in California’s Long Beach.
It was a further gold medal dress rehearsal for its inclusion which World Aquatics has already spoken about as being a “priority for us” – according to World Aquatics executive director Brent Nowicki.
“We really like the action, we really like the exchanges, and we like the future of the relay,” Nowicki told Australia’s News Corp papers last year with plans to continue as the integration of pool swimmers into the open water realm continues to grow.
A quote that could well have come after watching that gripping final leg in Doha.
While there is definitely no open water relay planned for Paris and although talks are taking place about including it for 2028 in LA, Nowicki expects the relay will debut in Brisbane in 2032 – and on the Gold Coast.
And for that to happen Aquatics may well have to sacrifice an event already included amongst the 37 on the Olympic swimming program – maybe the last one added – the Mixed 4x100m medley ?
“Of course, we have to be careful with the planning and timing … but it has a lot of potential and we‘d love to see it at the Olympic Games so we’ll continue to push it,” said Nowicki.
“Whether that happens in LA is unknown, but my guess is that we‘ll see it at the very latest in Brisbane because there is a strong open water swimming community there.
“We love the energy of open water swimming there and if we have to wait until then so be it.”
An event well worth waiting for – but after watching that gripping relay unfold on Port Doha – maybe it deserves to be sooner rather than later.
GASSED: Kyle Lee (AUS) at end of 4x1500m Doha Photo Courtesy Wade Brennan (Wade’s Photos).
OUT MUSCLED: The final winning stroke from Kyle Lee 4x1500m Doha. Photo Courtesy Wade Brennan (Wade’s Photos).
SHOW MEDALS: Kyle Lee , Nic Sloman, Chelsea Gubecka, Moesha Johnson. Photo Courtesy Wade Brennan (Wade’s Photos).
WRAPPED: Kyle Lee greeted by his team. Photo Courtesy Wade Brennan (Wade’s Photos).