Kaylee McKeown

 ( 2001 Births ) 

The following year, McKeown competed in the women's 200 metre backstroke event at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships, placing fourth in a World Junior Record time of 2:06.76. McKeown earned her first senior international medal for swimming the heats of the mixed medley relay, in which Australia placed second in the final.

As a 16-year-old the next year, she was the youngest woman on the Swimming Australia roster for the 2018 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships.Brien, Taylor (4 July 2018). "Australia Announces 33 Swimmer Roster for 2018 Pan Pacific Championships" . Swimming World. Retrieved 8 December 2022. McKeown placed fifth in both the 100 metre and 200 metre backstroke events.

McKeown earned her first senior individual medal at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships with a silver medal in the 200 metre backstroke event.

In 2020, McKeown broke her first World Record in the short course 200 metre backstroke event, swimming a time of 1:58.94 at the Australian Championships.

McKeown won the 100 metre backstroke at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics setting a new Olympic record of 57.47 seconds and becoming the first Australian woman to win a backstroke event at an Olympic Games. She also won the 200 metre backstroke event in a time of 2:04.68, and swam the backstroke leg on the gold medal winning women's medley relay.

On day two, McKeown won the gold medal in the 100 metre backstroke with a personal best time of 55.49 seconds.FINA (14 December 2022). "16th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) Melbourne (AUS): Women's 100m Backstroke Final Results" . Omega Timing. Retrieved 14 December 2022.Pérez, Marta (14 December 2022). "McKeown y Pallister sellan el doblete australiano en Melbourne" (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. Retrieved 23 December 2022. The morning of day three, she ranked tenth in the preliminaries of the 50 metre backstroke with a time of 26.24 seconds and advanced to the semifinals.FINA (15 December 2022). "16th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) Melbourne (AUS): Women's 50m Backstroke Heats Results Summary" . Omega Timing. Retrieved 15 December 2022. In the evening semifinals, she placed ninth with a time of 26.09 seconds.FINA (15 December 2022). "16th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) Melbourne (AUS): Women's 50m Backstroke Semifinals Results Summary" . Omega Timing. Retrieved 15 December 2022. Two days later, she swam the backstroke portion of the 4×50 metre medley relay in the preliminaries in a time of 26.42 seconds, helping qualify the relay to the final ranking first in an Oceanian and Australian record time of 1:44.78.FINA (17 December 2022). "16th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) Melbourne (AUS): Women's 4x50m Medley Relay Heats Results Summary" . Omega Timing. Retrieved 17 December 2022. When the finals relay placed first in a time of 1:42.35, she won a gold medal for her efforts in the preliminaries.FINA (17 December 2022). "16th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) Melbourne (AUS): Women's 4x50m Medley Relay Final Results" . Omega Timing. Retrieved 18 December 2022.

Day six of six, McKeown started in the morning in the preliminaries of the 200 metre backstroke, where she ranked second in 2:02.32 and advanced to the final.FINA (18 December 2022). "16th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) Melbourne (AUS): Women's 200m Backstroke Heats Results Summary" . Omega Timing. Retrieved 18 December 2022. In the final, she was the only one to finish in a time faster than 2:00.00, winning the gold medal with a 1:59.26 that was 0.32 seconds slower than her world record mark from 2020.FINA (18 December 2022). "16th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) Melbourne (AUS): Women's 200m Backstroke Final Results" . Omega Timing. Retrieved 18 December 2022. She concluded the session with a silver medal in the 4×100 metre medley relay, leading-off with a 55.74 for the backstroke portion to help finish in an Oceanian, Commonwealth, and Australian record time of 3:44.92.FINA (18 December 2022). "16th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) Melbourne (AUS): Women's 4x100m Medley Relay Final Results" . Omega Timing. Retrieved 18 December 2022.

At the 2023 World Aquatics Championships McKeown swept the 50, 100 and 200 metre backstroke events, breaking the Oceanian record in the 50 metre backstroke and the championship record in the 100 metre backstroke. McKeown became only the second swimmer to ever win the 50, 100 and 200 metre events of the same stroke during the same championships, after China's Qin Haiyang completed the breaststroke sweep the day prior.

McKeown swam only in the preliminary heats.

split 58.01 for backstroke leg; with Chelsea Hodges (breaststroke), Emma McKeon (butterfly), Cate Campbell (freestyle)

• Medal of the Order of Australia: 2022
• Australian Institute of Sport Performance Awards Female Able-Athlete of the Year: 2023
• World Aquatics Female Athlete of the Year: 2023
• Swimming World Female Swimmer of the Year 2023
• SwimSwam Female Swimmer of the Year: 2020 & 2023
• Swimming Australia Olympic Program Swimmer of the Year: 2024 & 2025

• List of Youth Olympic Games gold medalists who won Olympic gold medals

• ( 2018-06-12)