Weeks after saying that she hopes to compete at home in the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, legendary Australian backstroker Kaylee McKeown has revealed that a medical condition could prevent her from having that opportunity.
Appearing on a podcast by Stellar magazine, “Something To Talk About,” McKeown revealed she has endometriosis, a chronic inflammatory disease in the uterus.
While women who suffer from the condition can still get pregnant, McKeown said she wants to “create a life outside of the pool” with partner Declan Watson, and balancing swimming with trying to create a family after the 2028 Los Angeles Games will be her main priority.
“I’ve spoken to my specialist, and he’s like, ‘Well, you should go freeze your eggs,’” the 25-year-old McKeown said on the podcast. “I was like, ‘Well, I can’t do that because I’m swimming.’ I can’t just inject myself with hormones; I’d get pulled up for drug testing – as simple as that.’ So, as much as I love swimming, it also has an impact on my personal life, and something I really want to make sure I’m able to do is have kids and be able to be a mother and have Declan be a father. That’s what I mean when I say I’m taking a break after LA.”
The world record holder in the 50 and 200 backstroke, McKeown swept the 100 and 200 backstroke events at the last two Olympics in Tokyo and Paris. She’s also a six-time LC world champion, including sweeping the 50, 100 and 200 back titles at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka.
Last summer in Singapore, she won gold in the 100 and 200 back at the World Championships while dropping the 50 back from her program.
Earlier this month, McKeown withdrew from the Commonwealth Games, which get underway later this week in Glasgow, and the Pan Pacific Championships, scheduled for August 12-15 in Irvine, Calif.
McKeown said if she does eventually become a mother, it won’t necessarily mean the end of her swimming career. It’ll just depend on what her life situation is following the Los Angeles Games.
“I want to make sure all those things are in line,” she said on the podcast. “If I can get back to being in the pool by 2032, that’s great. Not a lot of people have done it. But if I can do it, then that’s amazing.”
The more we uncover the challenges she has faced, the more Kaylee’s achievements stand out. Hopefully the setbacks in 2026 helps her reset leading into LA28, if she can get Gold in either 100/200 back and get triple crown, then Kaylee is right up there as Australia’s greatest ever swimmer… and who knows a candidate to light the flame in Brisbane 2032.
Also remember Endo severely hampered fellow backstroker Emily Seebohm’s 2016 Rio campaign.
No need to be concerned about 2032. Rack up a couple of more gold medals in Los Angeles then she can start a family and have some ceremonial role in Brisbane, a toes in the water type of thing.
You’d think the drug testing could accommodate female athletes that need to take hormones for fertility reasons.
Interestingly, as I understand it, two common hormone injections given to women who are looking to freeze their eggs (hCG and LH) are actually only banned by WADA for use by male athletes since they have no proven athletic benefit for female athletes.
That said, I don’t know which specific therapies McKeown’s doctors would want her to use.
McKeown is both smart and a tough cookie.
Also extremely talented.
I can’t imagine how hard it must be to train with endo. People I know who have it find it absolutely debilitating at times.
Tough as nails
Hopefully there’s help for her, maybe in another country. As for the upcoming Olympics, this is why we need 4 x 50 relays. How many great swimmers who otherwise couldn’t qualify, would still be some of the best 50 m. swimmers in those relays.
There are 50 stroke now for Olympics so they would qualify for those.
4×50 relays would be fun to watch though!
It really would be so cool to see all the 20.xx splits on the relays, maybe have a 4×50 men’s team go like 1:23, or a women’s team like 1:32. The fact that those relays never get contested long course at the world level feels like a huge missed opportunity.
She has done so much in the pool, time to focus on herself. She is our (Australia’s) most successful Olympic swimmer (4 individual golds), and being the WR holder in the 50m I think as she gets older and with time out of the pool she can focus on the shorter event/s (and maybe 100M).
Imagine Kaylee’s 50 if she punted the 200bk after LA…could be scary.
Such a great competitor, but prioritizing health, life and happiness beyond the pool is more important.
Personally, I’d love to see her healthy and competing in LA28. Along with MOC. There really seems to be a great nucleus of female swimmers from multiple countries developing for that Games, so would be awesome to see all of them there.