Kaylee dedicates her greatest moment to the father robbed of chance to share it
Kaylee McKeown’s first thought on becoming an Olympic gold medallist was: “Wow”.
Soon after, she thought of her father, who died of brain cancer last year after fighting for years to see his girl swim at an Olympics.
The Queenslander collects Australiaâs third gold of the Tokyo Games.
And her 100-metre backstroke triumph is the most emotional, won against a backdrop of family tragedy.
McKeownâs dad, Sholto, died in August last year.
Had Tokyoâs Games not been postponed a year because of the coronavirus pandemic, he would have watched Kaylee swim at an Olympics.
Sholtoâs death has given McKeown perspective beyond her 20 years.
âItâs not necessarily what Iâve been through,â McKeown said.
You might like
âEveryone has had a journey of their own.
âItâs having that really tough mindset and I wouldnât have had it any other way.
âI donât think Iâd be here today with all thatâs happened.â
McKeown entered Tuesdayâs final as world record holder but third-fastest qualifier behind American Regan Smith and Canadaâs Kylie Masse.
The Canadian and American led at the last turn only for McKeown to surge in the last 25 metres for a stunning victory.
âMy legs weâre definitely hurting a lot with 20 (metres) to go,â she said.
âBut I trained for that and knew I had a really good chance to be on the podium and come away with the position I have.â
McKeown triumphed in 57.47 seconds, with Masse (57.72) taking silver and Smith (58.05) the bronze.
Stay informed, daily
Australian veteran Emily Seebohm, at her fourth Olympics, finished fifth in 58.45.
âTo see Kaylee there, I want to say, it was effinâ special,â Seebohm said.
Also Tuesday, Mitch Larkin finished seventh in the 100m backstroke final while 400m freestyle gold medallist Ariarne Titmus booked another date with American Katie Ledecky.
After their epic 400m battle, the pair won separate 200m freestyle semi-finals.
Titmus was restrained for three laps and then powered to win in one minute 54.82 seconds.
âI felt a little bit sluggish which was understandable,â Titmus said.
âIt was just about trying to execute a good race.â
Reigning Olympic champion Ledecky then clocked 1:55.34.
The next chapter in the Titmus versus Ledecky story comes in Wednesdayâs final.
But the Australian warned against writing off the rest of a field including compatriot Madi Wilson, who snuck into the final in lane eight.
âI enjoy racing Katie, itâs exciting for everyone and myself,â Titmus said.
âBut the 200 tomorrow is not just Katie and I. Itâs a very strong field ⌠itâs anyoneâs race.â
Want to see more stories from InDaily Qld in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily Qld as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily Qld". That's it.
