Paris 2024 Oceania Recap: McKeown The First Female Backstroker To Defend 100/200 Olympic Gold

2024 PARIS SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES

• Pool Swimming: July 27 – August 4, 2024
  • Open Water Swimming: August 8 – 9, 2024
• La Défense Arena — Paris, France
• LCM (50 meters)
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• Oceania Recap, Day 1: Chalmers On ‘King Kyle’ Form After Tough Run Up to Paris
• Oceania Recap, Day 3: Mollie O’Callaghan Goes From Prelims-Only Relay Swimmer to Olympic Champ in Three Years
• Oceania Recap, Day 4: Kaylee McKeown Becomes 2nd Woman to Defend Olympic Gold In 100 Backstroke
• Oceanian Recap, Day 5: Kyle Chalmers Joins Rare Air By Medalling In Third Straight Olympic 100 Freestyle
• Oceanian Recap, Day 6: New Zealand Women Make Their First Olympic Relay Final

Once again, Kaylee McKeown is the Queen of the Backstroke at the Olympic Games.

Tonight, she won the 200 backstroke with a new Olympic record of 2:03.73, completing her sweep of the women’s backstroke events at the 2024 Olympic Games. Earlier in the meet, she won gold in the 100 backstroke with a new Olympic record of 57.33, tying her Oceanian record.

“I couldn’t ask for much more to be honest with you,” McKeown told The Guardian at the end of the session. “Having that motivation, seeing those girls – not just the Aussie girls, but the whole world. Female sport has just been unreal this year and it’s great to be a part of that.”

Completing a double like that at the Olympics is already a rare achievement in swimming, and McKeown’s now done it twice as she also swept the backstrokes at the Tokyo Games. She’s the first female backstroker to successfully pull off the double defense. She’s also only the second woman to do the double-double in any stroke; Yana Klochkova completed it in the IMs at the 2000 and 2004 Games.

List of Swimmers Who Have Done the Double-Double 

• Roland Matthes, West Germany: 100/200 back (1968, 1972)
• Tamás Daryi, Hungary: 200/400 IM (1988, 1992)
• Alexander Popov, Russia: 50/100 freestyle (1992, 1996)
• Yana Klochkova, Ukraine: 200/400 IM (2000, 2004)
• Kosuke Kitajima, Japan: 100/200 breaststroke (2004, 2008)
• Michael Phelps, United States: 100/200 butterfly (2004, 2008)
• Michael Phelps, United States: 200/400 IM (2004, 2008)

It’s another accolade on a CV that’s already impressively long for the 23-year-old. And it’s not like McKeown has had no competition in these events. In the last five years, she’s faced challenges from American Regan Smith and Canadian Kylie Masse. Her rivalry with Smith in particular is already one of the best in the sport and together, the two have pushed women’s backstroke bounds forward. After her 100 backstroke win in Paris, McKeown credited Smith, saying “Regan pushes me to the best of my abilities…I wouldn’t be the athlete I am if it wasn’t for her.”

But for how close the two are on paper, McKeown consistently comes out on top. Her strong back half helps her get the better of Smith’s early speed. Tonight, she was second to Smith at the final wall but put together a 31.85–the only sub-32 closing split in the field–on the closing meters to get her hand on the wall first. She hasn’t lost a backstroke event at a major meet since 2019, when she was 5th in the 100 backstroke at the World Championships. Her win streak in the 200 backstroke goes back even further — she hasn’t lost that event since the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships.

Her ability to show up in the big moments and get her hand on the wall first no matter the competition is what’s helped her carve out her place in history. Two years after winning the Olympic double in Tokyo, McKeown became the first woman to win the 50, 100, and 200 backstroke at a World Championships. From October 2023 until June 2024, she held the world record in all three backstroke distances. And now by completing the double-double, she’s the first Australian to win four individual Olympic gold medals.

On the NBC broadcast, Rowdy Gaines called McKeown the greatest female backstroker of all time. With all that McKeown’s already achieved, there will be an argument to be made for dropping the gender qualification from that title soon, if not already.

Day 7 Quick Hits

• McKeown’s win was part of an incredible night for the Australians. In the event prior, Cam McEvoy claimed his first individual Olympic medal after two bronze medals in Rio and another bronze in Tokyo, all on relays. McEvoy tore to the win in the men’s 50 freestyle, swimming 21.25 to get the better of Great Britain’s Ben Proud by .05 seconds. At 30, McEvoy is the second-oldest Olympic gold medallist in this event behind 2016 champion Anthony Ervin, who was 35.
• McKeown had a tough double with the 200 backstroke final/200 IM semifinal, made more difficult by the 200 backstroke victory ceremony directly before the 200 IM semifinals. She did what she had to do in the 200 IM semi and made it back for the highly anticipated final in 7th position (2:09.97). Her compatriot Ella Ramsey joins her in the final, making her first final in her Olympic debut. Ramsay sneaks into the final in 8th place (2:10.16), meaning the Australians will be the outside smoke in the final. Matt Temple also made the men’s 100 butterfly final, qualifying 7th with a 50.95.

Oceanian Medal Table Thru Day 7