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Kaylee McKeown has responded to her brutal disqualification in perfect fashion with a stunning come from behind win in the women’s 100-metre backstroke final at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka.
McKeown turned for the final 50 metres behind America’s Regan Smith, but took out the gold medal with a rapid final stretch, touching the wall at 57.53, 00.25 seconds ahead of Smith (57.78). America’s Katharine Berkoff took out the bronze medal with a time of 58.25.
The win capped off a rollercoaster 48 hours for the Australian star, who was left seething after being controversially disqualified during the women’s 200-metre individual medley semi-final on Sunday night.
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However, the 22-year-old saw the positive side in the drama after her backstroke title win.
“I’m sure there’s been worse I’ve had to deal with, but it’s definitely something I’ve learnt from, just not to take it so emotionally and just forget about it really,” she told Nine.
“It was going to be 50-50 between the Americans and I, so it was really good coming back on that last 50 … I dug deep and gave it everything I could.”
McKeown admitted that she was nervous prior to the race.
“I’ve never been this shaky in my life. I felt like I needed to vomit before my race,” she said.
“My old coach used to say if you’re nervous to that extent it means you care about what you’re about to do, so I really chanelled that and did what I could.”
Australian swimming icon Ian Thorpe was full of praise for how McKeown rebounded from her disqualification in the medley semi-final.
“It was unique circumstances coming off what was a disappointing disqualification,” he told Nine.
“Two days after that being able to create a performance like this it shows the grit and determination that Kaylee McKeown has.
“She takes that with her and she owns that. It was down to the last 15 metres.”
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McKeown will aim to make it two golds later in the meet when she gets back in the pool for the 200-metre backstroke, the event where she is the reigning Olympic champion.
“My speed is there, whether or not my endurance is there is something we’ve got to figure out,” she said when asked about her prospects in the 200.
“We’ll see what happens.”
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