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AAP
AAP
Sport
Steve Larkin

Australian swim stars' love triangle with many angles

Emma McKeon (left) and Kyle Chalmers (2nd right) won gold in the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay. (Dave Hunt/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

All triangles have sharp angles. Even love triangles.

Cody Simpson's angle is: it's all good.

Kyle Chalmers' is: it's all made up tabloid fodder.

Emma McKeon's angle is: it's none of your business.

The three Australians are swimming at the Commonwealth Games with their supposed love triangle again making a splash.

Whichever way you look at it, this triangle has more than three angles.

Quick recap: Chalmers dated McKeon last year. McKeon now dates Simpson.

Renowned freestyler Chalmers, at selection trials in May, opted to swim butterfly. Simpson's stroke.

Cue conspiracy angles that Chalmers did so to try and keep Simpson off the Australian team.

"The made up story lines surrounding my personal life have been more than I can handle," Chalmers posted at the time on Instagram.

Fast forward to Birmingham on Friday night: Chalmers and McKeon win gold as members of Australia's mixed 4x100m freestyle relay team.

After winning, Chalmers made no effort to congratulate McKeon. Or vice versa.

Fuel the tabloid fire angle of fractures in the triangle.

"We're all teammates," Simpson told reporters on Saturday. "I'm not sure how he or she are dealing with that.

"But in saying that, in the warm-up area and out on deck we have all been teammates regardless of whatever may have been.

"So far, we have been going really good. And I can only speak for my experience and so far we are doing really well."

Simpson - who paused his global pop star career to return to swimming - speaks with Chalmers "a bit".

"Just all the usual teammate stuff, supporting each other. It's fine," he said.

Elijah Winnington, the world and freshly-minted Commonwealth 400m freestyle champion, offered another angle.

Winnington was aware of reports claiming the supposed frosty love triangle was impacting on the wider morale of the entire swim team.

His angle: it's lies.

"The mood is great, this is one of the closest teams I have ever been a part of," Winnington said on Saturday.

"All this hype over the love triangle and all that, I think it's just hype.

"There is nothing like that actually in the team and that is the unfortunate thing because lies are getting spread when it's not true."

So why didn't Chalmers congratulate McKeon after their relay? Winnington offered yet another angle.

"It's more so even respect for Cody," he said, suggesting Chalmers was damned if he did, damned if he didn't.

"If Kyle had of done either which way, he would have been painted as the bad guy," Winnington said.

"It's just a tough situation to be in. We have all had exes in the past and we have all never really had to then work with the colleague of the new boyfriend.

"There definitely no tension or anything on the team. It's just a shame that it's getting painted that way."

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