Rising Australian star Kaylee McKeown is now an Olympic champion, blitzing home to win the 100m backstroke final with an Olympic record time.
Fellow Aussie Emily Seebohm finished fifth, nearly a second behind 20-year-old McKeown, whose time of 57.47 seconds was only 0.02 seconds behind the world record time she set in June this year.
McKeown turned in third position, but made her move in the final 30 metres of the race, finishing ahead of Canada’s Kylie Masse and the US’s Regan Smith.
“It’s definitely something that people dream of — it’s something I have dreamed of, too,” McKeown told Channel Seven after the race.
“To make it a reality is … yeah, really amazing.”
Competing at her first Olympics, McKeown admitted to feeling the nerves in the lead up to her big moment.
“I’m just thankful I have a good support team,” she said.
“A few people before the race came up and said, ‘just have all the faith in the world that you have got this’.”
McKeown also paid tribute to her father, Sholto, who died of brain cancer last year at the age of 53.
“I hope you’re proud, and I keep doing you proud.”
Mitch Larkin finished seventh in the men’s 100m backstroke final shortly after, which was won by the Russian Olympic Committee’s Evgeny Rylov.
