Team Australia star Kaylee McKeown made history after defending her Olympics 100m backstroke title with time of 57.33 seconds to surpass her Olympic Record set at the last Tokyo Games.
McKeown won gold at the event in the last Olympics with a time of 57.47 and this year in Paris, she went 0.13 seconds faster to beat world record holder, United State of America’s Regan Smith.
Smith, whose World Record remains at 57.13, settled for silver in Paris with a time of 57.66 while fellow American Katharine Berkoff followed in her father’s footsteps to win an Olympic medal by claiming bronze in 57.98 seconds.
23-year-old Kaylee’s win was the fourth gold overall for the Aussies in the pool event so far at Paris 2024. “I’ve made it my mission to not be processed around medals or medal tally or anything like that,” The Queenslander said after her victory.
McKeown added, “I’ve come to the Olympics to have fun, do the best I can and just enjoy the atmosphere because it’s not everyday you have this many people in the stadium at once.”