Aussie swimmer pays tribute to late father on the winner's podium
<p>Australian backstroke champion Kaylee McKeown has paid tribute to her late father on the winner's podium at the Paris Games. </p>
<p>The 23-year-old emerged victorious from the 100m backstroke, beating American pair Regan Smith and Katharaine Berkoff in a thrilling finish to take home the gold medal. </p>
<p>As she took to the podium, McKeown paid tribute to her late father Sholto, who passed away in August 2020 after a two-year battle with brain cancer. </p>
<p>She said that it was her father's dream to see both of his daughters compete at the Olympics.</p>
<p>He got to see Kaylee’s older sister Taylor, also a swimmer, at Rio in 2016 but never got to see Kaylee compete because of the delay to Tokyo 2020 amidst the Covid pandemic.</p>
<p>Speaking to <em>Nine</em> after her win, McKeown said her dad helped her secure the victory.</p>
<p>“Expectation, I think, is a privilege, and if you get that privilege, it’s something special,” she said.</p>
<p>“I like to think I have a little superpower, and that’s my dad. I believe he was with me tonight. I’m just over the moon. It feels really nice. I wasn’t sure if I could get up and get there tonight, the Americans gave me a red hot push."</p>
<p>“It just feels wonderful to be here.”</p>
<p>The emotional Aussie said her dad would be immensely proud, saying, “I’m not going to swear but we can all put words together.”</p>
<p>“He’d be extremely proud. It’s great to have my family here because I know that he’s here in spirit. No words can really amount to how much I appreciate (my family’s) support. They deal with a lot of s***, so thank you for all of that.”</p>
<p>Since his passing, Australia’s backstroke golden girl had a message dedicated to Sholto tattooed on her left foot, which says: ‘I’ll always be with you’.</p>
<p><em>Image credits: Giorgio Scala/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto/Shutterstock Editorial </em></p>
