Kaylee McKeown: “If I Did This For The Money, I Would Not Be In The Sport of Swimming”

2023 WORLD AQUATICS SWIMMING WORLD CUP – BERLIN

• October 6-8, 2023
• Berlin, Germany
• LCM (50 meters)
• Meet Central
• Full Entry List
• Live Results
• Day 1 Finals Recap
• Day 2 Finals Recap
• Day 3 Finals Recap

The first leg of the 2023 World Cup is in the books, with Kaylee McKeown and Qin Haiyang emerging as the overall series leaders as the circuit shifts from Berlin to Athens this weekend.

The event winners in Berlin had some interesting things to say post-race, so let’s take a look at some of them below, with quotes courtesy of World Aquatics.

KAYLEE MCKEOWN: “IT’S NOT ABOUT THE MONEY”

Australian phenom McKeown was a frequent visitor to the interview area after winning four events in Berlin, and her sweep of the women’s backstroke events resulted in her leading the series standings and netting her $12,000 (so far).

“My coach whispered in my ear that I might be in contention, but I really hadn’t thought about it,” McKeown said about the series lead. “It’s not about the money or coming first or second.”

“If I did this for the money, I would not be in the sport of swimming, but maybe tennis,” she said.

After winning the Berlin leg, McKeown has put herself in position to vie for the overall series title, which awards swimmers $100,000. If she were to go wire-to-wire (win the Athens and Budapest stops), she’d net $136,000. Theoretically, if she wins the same four events she did in Berlin, that number could climb to $176,000 due to the $10,000 bonus awarded for winning the same event at all three stops.

After winning the 100 back on Day 2, McKeown also spoke on how she wasn’t feeling great pre-race and didn’t expect to crack 58 seconds.

“In warm-up, my legs felt heavy and I wasn’t expecting to go 7.9, I thought I would go 8 low,” she said. “The 200 backstroke will be very interesting since I have another lap on the back of that.” She went on to win the 200 back in a World Cup Record of 2:06.47.

The 22-year-old added that she’s using the stress of the circuit, both in terms of time change and event schedules, as preparation for next year’s Olympics.

“The World Cup experience for Australia is an important training experience,” she said. “We are far away from home, like Paris, and we are many time zones different, like Paris, and it can be an intense schedule, like Paris, so this is valuable for Australian athletes.

“If all goes well, I will make the team for the Olympics. I am putting my body in a bit of a pressure test to see if I can handle it during the three World Cup events.”

After winning the 200 IM, which came towards the end of Day 3 after she had already sewn up the backstroke sweep, McKeown added: “When you are at the top, people are always chasing you. I am just pleased that I can be in a sport that rewards training hard. As an athlete, if you are not learning you are not growing. That’s my motto.”

QIN HAIYANG HAPPY TO SEE ADAM PEATY BACK

Qin has been a dominant force in 2023, highlighted by his sweep of the men’s breaststroke events at the World Championships in Fukuoka, and he managed to achieve the same feat in Berlin.

Qin repeatedly noted that he was feeling “very tired” during his post-race interviews, but pulled out some impressive results, including tying his Asian Record of 57.69 in the 100 breast.

The Chinese native said he was happy to see the return of world record holder Adam Peaty, the only man who has ever been faster than Qin in the event who finished a distant 6th in a time of 59.85. That came after Peaty took an extended break from international competition, including the last two World Championships (though he raced at the 2022 Commonwealth Games).

“I was pleased to win the three breaststroke events in Fukuoka and it will be my main goal to do this again, more to follow,” Qin said. “I am really glad to see that Adam Peaty is back. He has been so very good in this event and I will continue to look forward to racing him at many competitions in the future.”

After finishing off the sweep in Berlin and emerging as the series leader, Qin said: “I am very grateful for the opportunity to race in Berlin. I felt that I might be able to win the three events and perhaps I will be able to swim fast in the next two weeks.”

ZHANG YUFEI PUTS 200 FLY ON BLAST

China’s Zhang Yufei won the women’s 100 and 200 fly and placed 2nd in the 50 fly, earning her the #2 spot in the Berlin standings behind McKeown.

After winning the 200 fly, Zhang said something every competitive swimmer can relate to.

“I must say that this is a really horrible event,” she said. “It makes me very tired. We raced a lot at the Asian Games just recently and my body is very tired. I really need a rest but we will continue racing here and also in Athlens and in Budapest and then I will be able to fully rest.”

She used a blazing-fast opening 50 of 25.96 to ultimately win the 100 fly two days later, holding off a hard-charging field in a time of 56.74

“I feel a little tired,” Zhang said. “The 100 fly is a much better event for me. Swimming on the third day I still feel sleepy and my body is tired, but it was a good result for me.”

THOMAS CECCON EXPLAINS USA CAP CONFUSION

Some fans were left wondering what in the world was going on when Italian Thomas Ceccon wore a USA cap en route to victory in the men’s 200 back on Day 1.

Ceccon explained himself post-race, simply saying he traded caps with an American four years ago and he wears it whenever he can (which wouldn’t fly at any international meet higher level than this).

“I wore my lucky cap (with the USA flag) today,” he said. “In every swim meet I wear it if I can. I traded with an American guy at World Juniors in 2019.”

Ceccon, who ranks second on the men’s side after winning three events in Berlin, also noted that he’s coming off of three weeks of altitude training and only took a few days off after the World Championships. Many of the athletes mentioned that they took at least three weeks off after Worlds, including Danas Rapsys saying he “took the longest vacation ever” and only got back in the water a month ago.

OTHER NOTABLE QUOTES

• Isaac Cooper expressed confidence after winning the men’s 50 free on the opening day. “You can say I’m back but it feels like I never left really,” he said. “This is the first World Cup and I am loving it. I knew standing behind the block that I was going to win.”
• Katie Grimes said her winning time of 4:37.20 in the women’s 400 IM was “terrible” while acknowledging that she’s in the midst of heavy training. “It’s kind of an odd time of the year to be swimming your best event. I guess times don’t really matter right now but I am not super happy with this.”
• Matt Sates turned 4th with 50 meters to go in the men’s 200 fly, but came away with the win after closing in 29.47. “I felt great for the 200 fly (after he was less pleased with the 200 IM, despite winning comfortably). I knew that I had only one strong 50 in me and I saved it for the finish.” Sates’ time of 1:55.87 in the 200 fly marked a new lifetime best.
• Sates added that his full focus is on the South African Olympic Trials in December, and mentioned that he will also be racing at the 2024 Worlds in Doha to prepare for Paris.
• Siobhan Haughey wasn’t super happy with her winning time of 1:55.10 in the women’s 200 free, but surprised herself by setting a new Asian Record of 52.02 one day later in the 100 free. Is 51 coming? “I really didn’t know what I was expecting. It was a personal best time for me in the 100 free so this was a good surprise. My goal is to get faster at every stop, who knows, maybe by the end of the series I will swim a 51.”