Aussie sensation Kaylee McKeown, 20, drops the F-bomb after winning GOLD in the 100m backstroke at the Tokyo Games – and dedicates her Olympic record swim to her father who died from brain cancer
Australian prodigy Kaylee McKeown has dropped the F-bomb in a live poolside interview while dedicating her gold-medal-winning swim in the 100m backstroke to her recently deceased father.
The 20-year-old, who set a world record in June at the Australian Swimming Trials, added Olympic champion to that title, continuing the golden start to the Games by the Aussie women.
Canada's Kylie Masse held a strong lead heading into the 50m turn and was 0.19 seconds ahead of McKeown's world record time but could not sustain that pace and the young Aussie stormed home to take gold.
'F*ck yeah!' McKeown said to Channel 7's poolside reporter after the race, throwing up a shaka in true Aussie fashion.
Her father Sholto passed away after a battle with brain cancer in August last year, with McKeown getting a tattoo as tribute saying 'I'll always be with you' on her foot.
'I hope you're proud, and I'll keep doing you proud,' she said after the win.
Aussie swimming prodigy Kaylee McKeown has won her first ever gold medal, flying home to win the women's 100m backstroke
Canada's Kylie Masse held a strong lead heading into the 50m turn and was 0.19 seconds ahead of McKeown's world record time but the young Aussie stormed home to take gold
McKeown's gold is Australia's third so far at the Tokyo Olympics after Ariarne Titmus and the women's 4x100m freestyle relay team
The family have rallied around Kaylee in the lead up to the Tokyo Games, with her father dying before he could see his daughter win her first gold medal
McKeown's family members, including her gold medal-winning former Olympian sister Taylor, were watching on from Australia and were overcome by emotion when being interviewed immediately following Kaylee's win.
'I'll have a word with her later,' her mum said of her swearing.
Her daughter dismissed that however, saying: 'I'll be mum's favourite for a while now.'
Kaylee's father was diagnosed with grade-four glioblastoma in June of 2018, undergoing round after round of chemotherapy hoping to see his daughters grow up and perhaps win an Olympic gold.
'I use it every day that I wake up,' McKeown said of her dad last month. 'I know it's a privilege to be on this earth and walk and talk.'
Had the Games been held as originally scheduled this time last year, Sholto would have had the chance to witness Tuesday's golden moment, but the Covid pandemic delayed the event and he sadly passed away aged 53 in August.
'My dad always said he would love to have seen us swim at the 2020 Olympics together,' McKeown told the Sydney Morning Herald.
'It's amazing, we would have been able to race at the Olympics if it had gone ahead, then come home and be able to see him. He timed it perfectly... he had the run of his life to have potentially seen us race at the Olympics.
'That's my biggest goal, to tick that box off for him. He always wanted to see that and you never know what they are doing up above; whether or not he can see that. It's always in the back of my mind. That's something he wanted to see us achieve.'
Her sister said while she doubts Kaylee, a proud Queenslander, will still be swimming at the Brisbane Olympics in 2032 she hopes she'll be involved.
'She will be the Emily Seebohm to the next Kaylee McKeown,' Taylor said.
'F*ck yeah!' McKeown said to Channel 7's poolside reporter after the race, throwing up a shaka in true Aussie fashion
20-year-old Kaylee McKeown has become Australia's latest gold medallist after storming home to win the 100m backstroke in Tokyo
Four-time Olympian Emily Seebohm hugs Kaylee McKeown after winning gold in the 100m backstroke at Tokyo
The Olympic record was broken in four consecutive races in the 100m backstroke heats, with Canada's Kylie Masse, USA's Regan Smith and McKeown all shattering the record. Smith would then break it again in her semi-final to qualify fastest.
McKeown admitted to feeling the pressure in the event so far in the Games, particularly following her world record last month.
'I put the pressure on myself to be honest,' McKeown said following her semi.
'I like the nerves – it means you're about to do something special and you care about what you're doing. So as long as I've got those nerves, I'm happy.'
The gold is Australia's third at the Tokyo Games so far, including Ariarne Titmus' stunning win over Katie Ledecky in the 400m freestyle and the women's 4x100m relay triumph.
Compatriot Emily Seebohm finished fifth in her fourth Olympic Games.
McKeown is set to heavily feature in the remaining events, with medal prospects in the 200m backstroke, 200m individual medley, 4x100 medley relay and 4x100m mixed medley relay.
'I was trying to hold in a lot of tears to be honest, it's an honour to be standing up there with the anthem,' she said following her first gold medal.
McKeown dedicated the win to her late father who died of brain cancer in August last year