WHAT WAS CLAIMED
Australian swimmer Kyle Chalmers announced he's withdrawing from the Commonwealth Games.
OUR VERDICT
False. Chalmers has made no such announcement.
AAP FACTCHECK - Australian swim star Kyle Chalmers has not announced his withdrawal from the Commonwealth Games, despite claims online.
There are no credible reports that the Olympic gold medallist has pulled out, and he has been posting on social media about looking forward to competing in the games.
A page called AU Swim Aquatics shared a post claiming Chalmers has pulled out of the games due to a "family scandal".
Meta's account transparency information shows the page is run by users in Vietnam.
The post links to an ad-laden website that expands on the false claims.
Chalmers has published multiple social media posts talking about his upcoming appearance at the Glasgow event, which begins on July 23.
He also discussed his preparations in a June 24 Instagram video that made it clear he would be competing.
"Grateful for the support as we build towards Glasgow, which will be my third games! Ready to represent Aus and go for gold," the swimmer wrote in the video's description.
Chalmers also posted a video of his training routine on June 23, saying he was excited to be going to his third Commonwealth Games.
On July 3, his Instagram post carried the message, "21 days", an apparent reference to the start of the games' swimming events on July 25 (AEST).
The AU Swim Aquatics page was created on April 2, 2026, and has a name similar to a now-defunct page, Swim Aquatics, which was also run by users in Vietnam.
AAP FactCheck debunked several false claims posted by the earlier page about Australian swimmers and politicians, which garnered thousands of views in late 2025.
The Swim Aquatics page eventually disappeared.
Another page, Aussie Swim Hub, posted similar disinformation about Australian swimmers and was also created in April and run from Vietnam.
One post from the page claims Olympic great Ian Thorpe publicly came to the defence of 13-year-old swimmer Nash Hawkins after "malicious comparisons" were made in the media.
In April, Hawkins broke Olympic gold medallist Zac Stubblety-Cook's record for his age group in the 200m breaststroke.
"STOP USING HIM AS A FOUL FOR PUBLIC OPINION!" Thorpe is quoted as saying.
There is no record of the five-time gold medalist saying the quotes attributed to him or giving a speech defending Hawkins against criticisms.
Like the AU Swim Aquatics page, the post includes a link to an ad-laden website that expands on the false claim.
The page has a similar name to Swim Hub, another Vietnam-run page that was deleted after AAP FactCheck debunked several of its posts.
Athletes have become routine targets for online disinformation, with Swimming Australia previously asking Meta to remove the posts from Facebook.
AAP FactCheck has also debunked several claims from the Swim Aquatics page involving the Bondi Beach massacre and politicians, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson.
Experts have previously told AAP FactCheck that foreign actors are fabricating stories about athletes, celebrities and politicians to drive clicks to websites that are often laden with suspicious ads.
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