Historic is an overused adjective. But on Friday night, a packed La Défense Arena witnessed something truly historic in the Paris Olympic swimming pool. Kaylee McKeown became the only Australian swimmer to ever defend not just one but two individual Olympic gold medals. On Tuesday night, it was her 100m backstroke crown in an Olympic record time. Seventy-two hours later, McKeown did it again – defending her 200m backstroke gold medal from Tokyo.
McKeown’s gold added to an electric eight minutes at the pool for Australia, after Dolphins veteran Cameron McEvoy, appearing at his fourth Olympics, won gold in the opening race of the evening, the men’s 50m freestyle. Australia now lead the Paris Olympics swim meet medal tally with seven golds, five silvers and one bronze; two nights of competition remain.
