Aussie star Kaylee McKeown dedicates her Olympic record swim to her father who died from brain cancer

By MiNDFOOD

Kaylee McKeown made a stunning fightback in the women's 100m backstroke at Tokyo 2020 today.

Her winning time was just two hundredths of a second shy of the world record she set in the Australian trials in June. The star didn’t win the lead, but clawed back the win after the turn to finish at 57.47 seconds.

Her father Sholto passed away after a battle with brain cancer in August last year, with McKeown getting a tattoo as tribute saying ‘I’ll always be with you’ on her foot.

Driven by the memory of her late father, the gold medal extends an impressive run of form this year that made McKeown the top ranked swimmer in three events in Tokyo, though she had to withdraw from one due to a tight schedule.

“It’s not necessarily what I have been through, everyone has their own journey. It just so happens I have had a tough time,” she said when asked about her preparations.

In true Aussie fashion, the swimmer responded to Channel 7’s poolside reporter after her win with a simple ‘F*ck yeah!’.

‘I hope you’re proud, and I’ll keep doing you proud,’ she later added.

McKeown admitted to feeling the pressure in the Games, particularly following her world record last month.

‘I think I put the pressure on myself to be honest,’ McKeown said following her semi.

‘I like the nerves – it means you’re about to do something special and you care about what you’re doing. So as long as I’ve got those nerves, I’m happy.’

The gold is Australia’s third at the Tokyo Games so far, including Ariarne Titmus’ stunning win over Katie Ledecky in the 400m freestyle and the women’s 4x100m relay triumph.

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