Kaylee McKeown Named Swimming World Pacific Rim Female Swimmer Of The Year
Kaylee McKeown Named Swimming World Pacific Rim Female Swimmer Of The Year
Blog Article
Heading into last summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, any one of three Australian women had the potential to emerge as their nation’s headliner inside La Defense Arena. Each of the candidates – Kaylee McKeown, Ariarne Titmus and Mollie O’Callaghan – boasted world-record credentials and vast success on the international stage.
And when the nine days of action in the French capital concluded, each member of The Big Three had an individual Olympic gold medal draped around her neck. More, the triumvirate combined – between solo efforts and relay duty – for 12 medals.
So, when it came time to tabulate the voting for Pacific Rim Female Swimmer of the Year, it was not a surprise that McKeown, Titmus and O’Callaghan occupied the top-three positions. The fact that McKeown swept the backstroke events for the second consecutive Olympiad handed her the award, marking the second straight year she has earned Pacific Rim accolades.
As McKeown prepared to race in Paris, there is no doubt she wore a target. Not only was she the defending Olympic champion in both backstroke events, she swept all three backstroke disciplines at the 2023 World Championships – the last fully-attended edition of Worlds. More, her consistent speed in all meets heralded McKeown as the favorite.
Ultimately, the Aussie delivered on the expectations, in the process edging her longtime friendly rival, Regan Smith of the United States. McKeown’s march toward a double-double started when she prevailed in the 100 backstroke, clocking an Olympic record of 57.33. That performance gave McKeown a .33 margin over Smith, who touched for the silver medal in 57.66.
Completing the sweep required a comeback flurry from McKeown, who trailed Smith through the opening 150 meters of the 200 backstroke. But McKeown produced a dynamic finish to pull ahead down the stretch and capture her latest gold medal in 2:03.73, a little more than a half-second clear of Smith and her runnerup mark of 2:04.26.
McKeown made a third individual trip to the podium at the Games via her bronze-medal finish in the 200 individual medley, where she finished behind Canadian Summer McIntosh and American Kate Douglass. McKeown added a silver medal in the 400 medley relay, where she jumpstarted Australia to second place behind the United States.
“I couldn’t ask for much more, to be honest,” McKeown said of her Olympic double repeat. “Not just the Aussie girls, but the whole world and female sports have been unreal this year. It’s just great to be a part of that.”