The spotlight proved too bright for Kyle Chalmers after the Olympic champion was upset by Cameron McEvoy in the 100m freestyle final at the national swim titles in Brisbane on Wednesday night.
McEvoy claimed his fourth straight national 100m title, clocking 47.91 seconds - the year's fastest time - to relegate Rio hero Chalmers to silver.
Chalmers - just 18 - admitted he was feeling the heat at the five-day national titles after becoming the first Australian to claim Olympic 100m gold since 1968 at Brazil.
"It's obviously different. I have never had it before," Chalmers told Channel Seven.
"I usually fly under the radar. It's been a new experience."
Chalmers then arguably showed more speed out of the pool when he dodged waiting media after his 100m disappointment.
Australian head coach Jacco Verhaeren hoped the national titles proved a valuable learning experience for Chalmers ahead of July's world championships in Budapest.
"It's great if you have a gold medal but with that comes the fame, the stature, the attention but also the distractions and the expectations and it's never easy," he said.
"He clearly needs to get used to that."
McEvoy had no complaints after bouncing back from a shock 200m fifth placing on Monday night.
His effort was well short of his blistering 47.04 at last year's national titles - the fastest 100m outside the now banned supersuit.
But McEvoy was still all smiles as he looked to overcome his Rio disappointment at the world titles.
Favourite McEvoy finished second-last in the Rio 100m final as Chalmers surged to a shock gold.
"It got the job done. Now it is time to focus on worlds and get excited for it," McEvoy said.
"This is just a stepping stone."
Meanwhile, siblings Cate and Bronte Campbell won't be joining forces at the world titles but Australia will still boast a sister act in Budapest.
Kaylee McKeown - just 15 - joined her older sister Taylor in the team after claiming 200m backstroke silver behind Emily Seebohm.
Rio Olympic relay silver medallist Taylor McKeown, 22, had earlier claimed the national breaststroke double for the first time when she won 200m gold on Wednesday night.
Cate Campbell won't combine with Bronte at Budapest after making herself unavailable for the world titles after nine years on the team.
However, the McKeowns will fly the family flag together in an Australian team for the first time.
Seebohm was also buzzing after claiming the 200m gold - her 20th national title.
It marked just the second time Seebohm had won the national 100m-200m backstroke double.
Other Wednesday night winners were David Morgan (200m butterfly) and Clyde Lewis (400m IM).
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