Words by Nick Crockford
Kaylee McKeown’s stunning gold medal swim in the Olympic 100m Backstroke final this morning brought a former coach to tears.
Redcliffe-born McKeown was in the middle of the pack at half-way, but up to second as the finish approached and stormed past Canadian Kylie Masse in the final few strokes to touch first.
Jodie Morgan, who was McKeown’s junior development coach at Australian Crawl in Burpengary, said: “Tears flowed at the finish.
'So emotional'
“It was so emotional. This is the most elite you can get.
“There was relief and joy after everything she has had to deal with in the preparations.
“Losing her dad (in 2020), breaking the world record in the trials, the media interest, the pressure and expectation.
“So much pressure on a 20-year-old … and she dealt with it.”
Confident of gold
Morgan, now junior development coach at Flinders Aquatic Academy in Buderim, is in close contact with McKeown’s family and coach.
She works with Chris Mooney, McKeown’s coach in Burpengary and now at USC Spartans and mum Sharon has helped at the Flinders Aquatic Academy.
Watching the race on the Sunshine Coast, Morgan was confident McKeown had the gold medal in the bag after 75m.
“She had the right kick under water and looked comfortable (down the first 50m),” she Morgan said, “turned well.
“I was 100 per cent certain Kaylee had it at 75m. She’s got that backend speed. It’s something (coach) Chris (Mooney) and I are big on.
Good finish
“She has such a good finish. If you look, she actually won it by an arm’s length.
“I messaged Chris straight away and he came straight back. Isn’t it amazing? And I’ve texted Kaylee and Sharon. I’m so happy for them.”
McKeown, who used to live in Morayfield, won in 57.47 seconds, an Olympic record time, ahead of Kylie Masse, of Canada, 57.72 and Regan Smith, from the US, in 58.05.
McKeown is also in the 200m backstroke, starting with the heats on Thursday just after 9pm AEST.
“That’s her pet event and I’m very hopeful,” said Morgan.
There's more news here
Related Stories
Top Stories
Young BMX champion takes on Australia
A young BMX rider has taken Australia by storm winning the 2024 Freestyle BMX National Championships. Here's the story
Gymnast reaches new heights
Popular Stories
Service expands to meet demand
A Narangba counselling service is helping meet the growing demand for disability support in Moreton Bay and northern Brisbane. ** FREE TO READ **
Dolphins battered in Battle for Brisbane
An already depleted Dolphins side is likely to be without Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow for a few weeks after he suffered a hamstring injury in tonight’s Battle for Brisbane. Head Coach Wayne Bennett says to ‘trust me, we’ll deal with it’ as the squad prepares for a trip to Darwin next week
Supernode to be built in Brendale
Work will start soon in Brendale on one of Queensland’s biggest Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). ** FREE TO READ **