Kaylee
McKeown OAM

Kaylee McKeown returned from the Tokyo Olympic Games a triple Olympic gold medallist with a staggering haul of three gold and one bronze medal from her debut Games.

A gold medal and Olympic record in the 100m backstroke set the tone for Kaylee's incredible meet, consolidating her haul with a gold medal in the 200m backstroke and 4x100m medley relay. Kaylee also took a bronze medal in the 4x100m mixed medley relay.

McKeown's rapid rise consolidates her standing as one of the undisputed superstars of international swimming. Kaylee was the only Australian or US Olympic swim team member to break a world record at the Olympic trials, with a blistering 57.45s in the 100m backstroke.

Heading into the Games, the then Sunshine Coast-based swimmer enjoyed a run of form which defied the Covid-interrupted 2020 international season. At the Queensland Virtual Championships, a short course meet, Kaylee McKeown hit a trio of PBs, including a new world record in the 200m backstroke (1:58.94). The previous world best mark belonged to Hungary's Katinka Hosszu and stood for six years. Kaylee bettered it by almost half a second. McKeown's 200m IM put her second-fasted all-time (2:03.68) at the same meet, and a then-PB in the 100m back (55.68) saw McKeown emerge the best-performed of all Australian swim team members.

Kaylee also became the second-fastest 100m backstroke swimmer of all time, smashing the Australian record at the Medal Shots Long Course Preparation Meet in Brisbane in November 2020. In the 200m backstroke, Kaylee became the first Aussie woman to break 2:05.00 swimming a blistering time to set a new Australian and Commonwealth record.

A backstroke specialist, Kaylee is also a world-class 200m and 400m Individual Medley swimmer, having smashed multiple records at age-group level. In 2020, Kaylee swam the second-fastest time ever by an Australian swimmer at the QLD Championships. Kaylee is likely to add the individual medley's to her program for future international meets.

Kaylee's debut for the Dolphins came as a 15-year-old at the 2017 FINA World Championships, where she finished 4th in the 200m backstroke, setting a new Junior World Record. Her first international medal at senior level came in 2019 at the FINA World Championships, winning silver in the 200m backstroke and 4x100m medley.

Kaylee was dealt a tough blow with the passing of her Dad in August 2020. Said Kaylee: “Dad's death was hard, but we knew it was coming. It was a tough pill to swallow, but it's��s made me realise how much life is worth living. I take every day as it comes, and I honestly thing that's the main reason I'm swimming as well as I am. There's no point wasting opportunities you have in life.”

With the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games and 2022 FINA World Championship in Fukuoka, Japan fast approaching, there will be plenty more Kaylee McKeown-magic to come.

Kaylee McKeown has all the attributes to become one of the best swimmers of her generation in what is shaping as a very strong period for Australian swimming.

In 2022 Kaylee was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for her service to sport as a gold medallist at the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020.

Kaylee's partners include Speedo, OMEGA, and the Seven Network.