Kaylee Rochelle McKeown ( mə-KEW-ən; born 12 July 2001) is an Australian swimmer and multiple Olympic gold medalist. She is widely considered the greatest backstroker of all time, holding a record 10 individual backstroke titles across the Olympic Games and World Aquatics Championships. She is the reigning Olympic champion in the 100 and 200 metres backstroke. She is the world record holder in the long course and short course 200 metre backstroke, and is the former world record holder in the long course 50 metre backstroke and both the long course and short course 100 metre backstroke. She won gold in both the 100 metre and 200 metre backstroke at both the 2020 and 2024 Olympics. In 2023, she was named as the "Best Female Swimmer of the Year" by World Aquatics, after sweeping gold in all three events of backstroke (50m, 100m, and 200m) at all three World Cup legs, held in Berlin, Athens and Budapest in October, 2023.
Kaylee McKeown was 15 years old when she joined her older sister Taylor on the Australian Dolphins swim team. She was one of the youngest members. She currently trains with the Griffith University swim group with Michael Bohl as her coach.
When she was 15 years old, McKeown competed at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships, held in August in Maui, Hawaii, United States, winning the gold medal in the 200 metre backstroke with a time of 2:10.01 and the bronze medal in the 100 metre backstroke with a time of 1:01.01.
In July 2017, McKeown competed at the World Championships in Budapest. She swam in the heats of the mixed 4 × 100 m medley relay and was replaced by Mitch Larkin in the final; Australia eventually won the silver medal. McKeown then competed in the 200 m backstroke, finishing fourth in a world junior record time of 2:06.76.
In April 2018, McKeown competed at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. In the 100 m backstroke, she finished fourth in a time of 1:00.08. She then finished fourth in the 200 m backstroke, recording a time of 2:07.86.
In August 2018, McKeown competed at the Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo. In the 100 m backstroke, she finished fifth in a time of 59.25. In the 200 m backstroke, she finished fourth in a time of 2:07.01.
In July 2019, McKeown competed at the World Championships in Gwangju. In the 100 m backstroke, she finished fifth in a personal best time of 59.10. In the 200 m backstroke, she won the silver medal in a time of 2:06.26. She then swam the heats of the women's 4 × 100 m medley relay; Australia eventually won the silver medal.
In January 2020, McKeown competed at the South Australian Championships in Adelaide. She won the 100 m backstroke in a time of 58.52, which was a personal best and a new Australian Allcomers record. She then swam in the 200 m backstroke, winning in a time of 2:05.83 to set a new personal best and Australian Allcomers record in that event.
In November 2020, McKeown competed at the Medal Shots Long Course Preparation Meet in Brisbane. She went 58.11 in the 100 m backstroke, breaking the Australian record of 58.23 set by Emily Seebohm in 2012. McKeown then competed in the 200 m backstroke, recording a time of 2:04.49 to break Seebohm's Australian record of 2:05.68 from 2017.
At the end of November, Mckeown competed at the Australian Short Course Championships. She went 1:58.94 in the 200 m backstroke, breaking the world record of 1:59.23 set by Hungary's Katinka Hosszú in 2014. McKeown set an Australian record of 2:03.68 in the 200 m individual medley.
In December 2020, McKeown returned to the long course format and competed at the Queensland Championships in Brisbane. She went 57.93 in the 100 m backstroke to lower her own Australian record. She then competed in the 200 m individual medley, recording a personal best and Australian Allcomers record time of 2:08.23.
In May 2021, McKeown competed at the Sydney Open. She went 57.63 in the 100 m backstroke to lower her own Australian record; her time was 0.06 slower than the world record set by the US' Regan Smith in 2019. McKeown then went 2:04.31 in the 200 m backstroke to break her own Australian record. She then swam the 50 m backstroke, recording a time of 27.16 to break Seebohm's Australian record of 27.37 from 2017.
In June 2021, McKeown competed at the Australian Trials in Adelaide. She won the 100 m backstroke in a time of 57.45, breaking Smith's world record. She then won the 200 m individual medley, recording a personal time of 2:08.19, which was the fastest time of the year. Her final event was the 200 m backstroke, which she won in a time of 2:04.28, another Australian record. She qualified for the Olympic team in all three events, but later withdrew from the 200 m individual medley.
In July–August 2021, McKeown competed at the Olympics in Tokyo. Her first event was the 100 m backstroke. She went 57.88 in the heats, breaking the Olympic record of 57.96 set by Smith in the previous heat. Smith reclaimed the record in the semifinals, however, posting a time of 57.86. In the final, McKeown won the gold medal in an Olympic record time of 57.47. Her next event was the 200 m backstroke, which she won in a time of 2:04.68. Later in the session, she swam in the mixed 4 × 100 m medley relay, an event which made its Olympic debut that year. She split 58.14 on the backstroke leg, helping Australia win the bronze medal in an overall time of 3:38.95. On the final day of competition, McKeown swam the backstroke leg of the women's 4 × 100 m medley relay. She split 58.01. Australia won the gold medal in a time of 3:51.60, breaking the Olympic record of 3:52.05 set by the US in 2012, and the national record of 3:52.58 from 2009.
Chris Mooney moved programs, prompting McKeown to move to Michael Bohl at Griffith University.
In June 2022, McKeown competed at the World Championships in Budapest. She did not swim the 100 m backstroke, choosing instead to prioritise the 200 m individual medley, in which she eventually won the silver medal in a time of 2:08.57. She then competed in the mixed 4 × 100 m medley relay, splitting 58.66 on the backstroke leg; Australia won the silver medal in a time of 3:41.34. McKeown won the gold medal in the 200 m backstroke in a time of 2:05.08. Her final event was the women's 4 × 100 m medley relay. She split 58.77 on the backstroke leg; Australia won the silver medal in a time of 3:54.25.
In July–August 2022, McKeown competed at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Her first event was the 100 m backstroke, which she won in a time of 58.60, breaking the games record of 58.63 set by Canada's Kylie Masse in 2018. The following day, McKeown won the 200 m backstroke, winning in a time of 2:05.60 to break the games record of 2:05.98, which was also set by Masse in 2018. She then swam in the 200 m individual medley, winning the silver medal in a time of 2:09.52. The following day, she competed in the mixed 4 × 100 m medley relay. In the final, she split 59.01 on the backstroke leg; Australia won the gold medal in a time of 3:41.30, which broke the games record of 3:45.34 established by Australia in the heats. On the final day, McKeown competed in the women's 4 × 100 m medley relay, splitting 58.79 on the backstroke leg; Australia won the gold medal in a time of 3:54.44.
In December 2022, McKeown competed at the World Championships (25 m) in Melbourne. She won the bronze medal in an Australian record time of 2:03.57. The following day, she swam in the 100 m backstroke, winning the gold medal in a time of 55.49. She then swam in the heats of the women's 4 × 50 m medley relay; Australia eventually won the gold medal. On the final day, McKeown won the 200 m backstroke in a time of 1:59.26. She then swam the backstroke leg of the 4 × 100 m medley relay, splitting 55.74; Australia won the silver medal in a time of 3:44.92, breaking the national record of 3:47.91 from 2019.