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The Olympics is truly a unique event that gathers athletes from around the world and help inspire one another to do their best.
Superstars in their own sports, these delegates are not shy to show that they are also fans of their co-athletes. One of the more famous ones is USA Men's Basketball Team member and former NBA MVP, Kevin Durant.
Last week, Durant was photographed together with his teammates watching and cheering on frantically fellow American Michael Phelps in his quest to capture more gold medals to add to his illustrious career. Now, it was Durant's turn to motivate one of his fans – Australian swimmer Kyle Chalmers.
The 18-year-old was very vocal that he watches the NBA and one of his favorite players is the newly-acquired small forward of the Golden State Warriors. He shared, via The Mercury News, that he watches Durant's MVP award acceptance speech before every race and also talked about his experience when he first saw him in Rio:
“Last night I was walking over to my semifinals and Kevin Durant walked in front of me,” Chalmers told reporters in Rio, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. “To be honest with you I almost vomited. My jaw dropped. I was that excited and nervous. It was just amazing for me.”
Chalmers was in for a special treat as not only did he get to see Durant but he also received a video from his basketball hero, wishing him goodluck:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BI8Xt7uAyn1/?taken-by=kyle_chalmers3&hl=en
The video may have done wonders for the young Australian as he has had a haul of medals already this Summer Games. He took bronze in both the 4x100m medley and freestyle relays, and won the gold in the men’s 100m freestyle.
Maybe meeting his sports hero and receiving the video is all that he needed to get that extra boost and win in the end.
