Latest news with #KayleeMcKeown
The Guardian
a day ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Sienna Toohey, 16, surfaces as bright hope for Australian swimming
A 16-year-old schoolgirl is being hailed as the future of Australian swimming after earning world championship selection. Sienna Toohey left seasoned campaigners including Kaylee McKeown in awe with a stunning swim at Australia's selection trials in Adelaide on Tuesday night. The Albury teenager, who only started swimming because she wanted to play water polo, triumphed in the women's 100m breaststroke. Toohey's victory, in a personal best time of 1:06.55, secured her berth at the world titles in Singapore from 27 July to 3 August. 'All of these people being my idols, now I get to be on the team with them,' Toohey said. 'These are people that I was watching two years ago, saying I want to be like them.' The daughter of the relieving principal at Albury High School, Toohey initially wanted to be a water polo player. 'My parents told me that I couldn't do water polo if I didn't swim, so I started swimming,' she said. 'And then my water polo progressed and my swimming was too at the same time. 'I got to the point where I had to choose swimming or water polo. Obviously, I chose swimming – it was the right choice.' Five-time Olympic gold medallist McKeown was among those impressed with Toohey's feat at the South Australian Aquatic Centre. 'I was 16 when I made my first team and it really taught me a lot being with the older guys,' McKeown said after winning the 100m backstroke final on Tuesday night. 'I'm excited to see young swimmers coming through the ranks. 'The more experience that they can get leading into LA [the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics], we have a really good chance of doing Australia proud.' McKeown, who has told of the mental toll during her decorated career, offered some advice to the precocious Toohey. 'Just to enjoy yourself,' McKeown said. 'The more you be serious, the more you're harsh on yourself, you keep just digging yourself in a bit of a hole and it's quite hard to get out of.' Sign up to Australia Sport Get a daily roundup of the latest sports news, features and comment from our Australian sports desk after newsletter promotion For Toohey, she now will revise plans which had centred on the goal of swimming at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. 'The team I was first aiming to get on was definitely that one,' she said. 'Now that I've made this one, we'll have to push up the timeline a bit more.' Also on Tuesday night, Alex Perkins threatened the national women's 50m butterfly record by clocking 25.36 seconds, 0.05 shy of Holly Barratt's benchmark set six years ago. Injury-plagued Ed Sommerville, 20, made his first senior long-course national team by winning the men's 200m freestyle in 1:44.93 ahead of Sam Short (1:45.71). Joshua Edwards-Smith prevailed in the men's 100m backstroke in 54.28 and and Matt Temple took out the men's 100m butterfly in 51.00.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Australia's Olympic swimmers reveal struggles after life in Paris Games fish-bowl
Kaylee McKeown was in a dark place and Mollie O'Callaghan suddenly realised she had no friends outside of her sport. They were two lost souls after swimming in the fish-bowl of the Paris Olympics. 'Coming off the Olympics, I was in a really dark place mentally,' McKeown said. 'When you go from such a high, straight back to such a low, and you're left scrambling for ideas on what you're going to do next, it is hard to find your feet once again.' In Paris, McKeown became the first Australian to win four individual Olympic gold medals. And the first swimmer to successfully defend Olympic 100m and 200m backstroke titles was given the honour of being Australia's joint flag-bearer at the closing ceremony. McKeown, who also won a silver and two bronze in the French capital, was an Olympic legend. All within three weeks of turning 23. 'I don't think people really know ... how much pressure we put on ourselves,' McKeown said in Adelaide at Australia's selection trials for the world championships starting late July. 'You're just so fixated on wanting to swim for yourself, for your country and for your team. You have all that amount of pressure to just do it ... and it [winning or not] really just comes down to nail bites.' McKeown arrived in Paris with her 100m backstroke world record just broken by American rival Regan Smith. O'Callaghan arrived in Paris with her 200m freestyle world record just broken by fellow Australian Ariarne Titmus. 'I'm the exact same as Kaylee,' O'Callaghan said. 'There's immense pressure to perform at the Olympic Games, it's the pinnacle of our sport. A lot of it is ourselves that put the pressure on because we know the work that goes behind it. 'Not a lot of people get to see the training sessions, the time, the dedication put in, because we don't really have a life outside of swimming – it's just all swimming.' O'Callaghan won three gold medals, plus a silver and bronze, to be Australia's most successful athlete at the Paris Games. All within four months of turning 20. But after the Olympic high, came the low. 'I noticed I don't have friends outside of swimming because I have dedicated such a strong amount of time from school to now,' O'Callaghan said. McKeown and O'Callaghan soon realised they needed extended breaks from the pool. Sign up to Australia Sport Get a daily roundup of the latest sports news, features and comment from our Australian sports desk after newsletter promotion 'It was just letting my hair down, having some fun and realising the hard work that I actually have put in over the years to get what I have,' McKeown said. O'Callaghan discovered there was a life out of the water. 'That was something after the Olympics I got to learn, was actually having that freedom for five months to be able to go places, do things, without the consequence of swimming or having swimming in the back of my mind,' she said. 'And it's just a nice refresher to know that there's opportunities and there's other connections outside [swimming] because a lot of the time our bubble is just swimming.' In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978. In the UK, the charity Mind is available on 0300 123 3393 and Childline on 0800 1111. In the US, call or text Mental Health America at 988 or chat
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kaylee McKeown in sad post-race admission after being caught up in Aussie DQ drama
Swimming stars Kaylee McKeown and Mollie O'Callaghan have opened up about their struggles after the Paris Olympics, after the backstroke world record holder had a disqualification at the Australian selection trials overturned. McKeown was left absolutely devastated in the heats of the Aussie selection trials for the Swimming World Championships next month. A subtle head movement before her 50m backstroke race saw her disqualified from the race and leaving her chances of qualification hanging by a thread. Cate Campbell initially believed McKeown's chances of overturning her DQ would be slim. Footage showed the Olympic gold medallist flinching - which is illegal in backstroke - while waiting for the start of the race. "There was a little head movement. From the time the starter says 'take your marks' to the point the gun goes, you have to remain completely still," Campbell said on Channel Nine. McKeown was disqualified for an early start, but after a two-hour appeal, the ban was overturned. McKeown argued she was distracted by movement prior to the starter's signal and the officials agreed. McKeown - the world record holder - went on to win Monday night's final at the South Australian Aquatic Centre in 27.33 seconds. She managed to hold out young swimming superstar O'Callaghan in a tight race to secure her position at the world championships in Singapore. Although she was well shy of her world record of 26.86 global benchmark set in October 2023. And the five-time Olympic gold medallist showed real grit having used the earlier drama to propel her to victory. "Things happen and it just crumbled that way," she said. "I knew as soon as I started, what I had done. But thankfully we had the technology to look back at footage and saw the distraction and I got reinstated." World Record Holder Kaylee McKeown was called for a False Start in the 50 Back Prelims. (McKeown is in lane 4) — SwimSwam Live (@SwimSwamLive) June 9, 2025 And bravely, McKeown opened up on her mental health battles after being so successful in the pool at the Olympics. McKeown became the first Australian swimmer to win four individual medals at an Olympics after blitzing the competition in Paris. The 23-year-old has five Olympic gold medals and became one of the superstars of Australian sport. However, late last year McKeon withdrew from the World Cup series in China just one day into the competition having admitted she needed ti priorities her mental health. And after speaking to Channel Nine after earning qualification to Singapore in her best event, McKeown was honest about her state of mind. "Coming off the Olympics, I was in a really dark place mentally," McKeown said. "When you go from such a high, straight back to such a low, and you're left scrambling for ideas on what you're going to do next, it is hard to find your feet once again." Speaking about the mental battles, McKeown said Aussie swimmers place a lot of pressure on themselves when competing for their country. "I don't think people really know ... how much pressure we put on ourselves," McKeown added in Adelaide. "You're just so fixated on wanting to swim for yourself, for your country and for your team. You have all that amount of pressure to just do it ... and it (winning or not) really just comes down to nail bites." And in a touching moment, O'Callaghan agreed with McKeown and opened up about her own struggles. "I'm the exact same as Kaylee," O'Callaghan said. "There's immense pressure to perform at the Olympic Games, it's the pinnacle of our sport." O'Callaghan shot to superstardom in the pool having beaten Ariarne Titmus in the 200m event. She finished with three individual gold medals, before she had even turned 20 years old. And the swimmer admitted all the time in the pool meant she had lost a lot of her social life. "I noticed I don't have friends outside of swimming because I have dedicated such a strong amount of time from school to now," O'Callaghan said. And it was being able to separate swimming and her private life that enabled O'Callaghan to find that balance. "That was something after the Olympics I got to learn, was actually having that freedom for five months to be able to go places, do things, without the consequence of swimming or having swimming in the back of my mind," she added. "And it's just a nice refresher to know that there's opportunities and there's other connections outside (swimming) because a lot of the time our bubble is just swimming." Readers seeking support can contact 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) or Lifeline (13 11 14)
ABC News
2 days ago
- Sport
- ABC News
McKeown reveals post-Olympic struggle after winning 50m backstroke at Australian trials
Multiple Olympic gold medallist Kaylee McKeown has survived a disqualification scare to qualify for the Swimming World Championships in Singapore. The backstroker was sensationally disqualified for moving on the blocks in her heat of the women's 50m backstroke on the first day of the Australian Swimming Trials in Adelaide, before lodging a successful protest. After several hours, officials upheld the protest ruling that she was distracted by movement just before the start signal. The final was the race of the night, with McKeown winning in 27.33, just .06 seconds ahead of Mollie O'Callaghan — an Olympic freestyle gold medallist. "It's not the first time I've been DQ'd, not something that you really want to practice," she said. She wouldn't elaborate on what happened apart from confirming she was distracted. "Things happen and it just crumbled that way, I knew as soon as I started what I'd done, but thankfully we have the technology to look back at footage and saw the distraction and yeah, got reinstated," she said. She said she was disappointed with her time, but didn't blame the distraction and subsequent protest. "Tonight just wasn't my night, didn't swim the way that I wanted to," she said. "Racing at 10 o'clock at night for a 50 isn't exactly ideal, but I can keep throwing out all these excuses. At the end of the day, I just haven't done the work I would have usually done with my prep. She said she struggled after her double gold success in the 100m and 200m backstroke events at the Paris Olympics. "I think when you go from such a high straight back to such a low and you're kind of left scrambling for ideas on what you're going to do next, it is hard to find your feet. "I don't think people really know, and Mollie can second this, how much pressure we put on ourselves. "I lost my world record [to American Regan Smith], same as Mollie going into Paris, and you're just so fixated on wanting to swim well for yourself, for your country, and for your team. "And you know you just have all that amount of pressure to just do it under, you know 58 seconds. O'Callaghan said she also felt immense pressure. "We don't really have a life outside of swimming. It's just all swimming," she said. With Ariarne Titmus in commentary for Channel 9 during her year's sabbatical from swimming, Lani Pallister stepped up to win the women's 400m freestyle final in a personal best time of 3:59.72 with Jamie Perkins more than three seconds behind. Both women have qualified for the World Championships. The final took place a day after Canadian Summer McIntosh smashed Titmus's former 400m free world record by more than a second. Pallister said she was excited by McIntosh's world record. "She's incredible. She's so young," she said. "I think it's silly to ever say that you doubt anyone. You know Ariarne dropped the record so many times, so I don't think I thought it was going to stay stagnant for long. "I also think it's really incredible for women's swimming going forward and everything we've done over the past decade." McIntosh was also an inspiration for the winner of the men's 400m freestyle, Sam Short, who blitzed down the pool in of 3:41.03 — his fastest time in two years. "She's incredible, I love watching her swim," he said of McIntosh. "It's contagious, I love watching greatness in any sport." Short finished fourth at the Paris Olympics — a performance he described as "a failure". "Took me a while. I did a lot of work with sport psychology," he said. "In our eyes it's a little bit of a failure, but I've got tonnes of mates back home who would literally chop their legs off just to get the opportunity to come fourth in the Olympics," Short said. The man who claimed the silver medal in the 400m at Paris, Elijah Winnington, was second almost three seconds behind Short, but did enough to qualify for the World Championships. The retirement of Emma McKeon has opened up a spot for a new madam butterfly in the Australian team. Alexandria Perkins is the heir apparent after making the semifinals at the Paris Olympics and now she'll be going to the World Championships after winning the women's 100m butterfly in a personal best time of 56.42. She said it was a relief to make the World Championships team. "Definitely, I think 100 fly is always on day one and this time it was the first event, and we've still got the 50 tomorrow but it's such a relief to get the ticket booked on that flight over to Singapore," she said. She said it was a strange experience racing without the presence of McKeon. "She's been at the forefront of this event for so long and she's just so talented and she was amazing role model to look up to. "It sucks that she's not here to race anymore, but hopefully we can bring 100 fly for Australia at the next big meets."
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
McKeown tight-lipped on DQ saga
Kaylee McKeown and Mollie O'Callaghan speak to Nine after the women's 50m backstroke final at the 2025 Australian swimming trials.
