Kaylee McKeown holds a record 10 individual backstroke titles across the Olympic Games and World Aquatics Championships. Born in Redcliffe in 2001, the Australian swimmer established herself as a dominant force in the sport by securing gold in both the 100-metre and 200-metre backstroke events at the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games.
Early Career and Development
McKeown began her competitive path at age 15 when she joined her sister Taylor on the Australian Dolphins swim team. During the 2016 Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Maui, Hawaii, she earned a gold medal in the 200-metre backstroke. By 2018, she represented Australia at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships as the youngest woman on the roster. She later earned her first senior individual medal, a silver, in the 200-metre backstroke at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships.
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At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, McKeown made history as the first Australian woman to win a backstroke event at an Olympic Games. She captured gold in the 100-metre backstroke with an Olympic record time of 57.47 seconds and repeated this success in the 200-metre backstroke. Additionally, she contributed to the gold-medal-winning women's medley relay. She continued this momentum at the 2024 Olympics, where she successfully defended both her 100-metre and 200-metre titles, setting new Olympic records in both.
Dominance in World Championships
The 2022 World Short Course Championships in Melbourne saw McKeown secure gold in the 100-metre and 200-metre backstroke, alongside a bronze in the 200-metre individual medley. In 2023, she achieved a clean sweep of the 50-metre, 100-metre, and 200-metre backstroke events at the World Aquatics Championships, becoming the second swimmer to win all three events at a single championship. She also swept these events during the 2023 World Cup legs in Berlin, Athens, and Budapest.
Record Progression
McKeown reached a career milestone in 2023 as the first woman to concurrently hold world records in the 50-metre, 100-metre, and 200-metre long course backstroke. She trains under coach Michael Bohl with the Griffith University swim group. Her performance trajectory remains consistent, transitioning from her first world record in the short course 200-metre backstroke in 2020 to becoming the second swimmer to hold the Olympic, Commonwealth, and World Championship titles in the same event simultaneously.
Fast facts
- Born: 2001, Redcliffe, Australia
- Education: Pacific Lutheran College and Grace Lutheran College
- Olympic Golds: 100m backstroke (2020, 2024), 200m backstroke (2020, 2024)
- Coach: Michael Bohl
- Training base: Griffith University swim group
- 2023 World Aquatics Best Female Swimmer of the Year
Questions readers ask
What is Kaylee McKeown's primary swimming specialty?
She specializes in backstroke and has won multiple Olympic and World Championship titles in the 50-metre, 100-metre, and 200-metre events.
Which records has she held?
She is the first woman to hold the world records for the long course 50-metre, 100-metre, and 200-metre backstroke concurrently.
Achievements
- Competed at swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics – women's 100 metre backstroke, swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics – women's 200 metre backstroke and swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics – women's
- Discipline: competitive swimming
