By Terin Frodyma on SwimSwam
One of the biggest swims of the summer belonged to Italian sprint star Sara Curtis, who broke the 50 backstroke World Record twice in 24 hours at the European Championships in Paris. Though the swimmer she took that record from, Australia’s Kaylee McKeown, is poised to take that record back in the future.
In a report from the Sydney Morning Herald’s Tom Decent, McKeown, who withdrew from both the Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships after contracting mononucleosis, otherwise known as glandular fever, is working to mount a comeback, though we will not see her race at either the World Cup throughout October or the Short Course World Championships in December, choosing to focus on her health and recovery, with the long course world championships in mind.
“My health comes first and I want to be ready for next year and the year after,” McKeown said in the report from the Sydney Morning Herald. “If that means taking the rest of the year off, that’s what I have to do. The end goal for me is getting to LA and being in the best shape possible. I’m not even close to where I want to be. But I’m also being patient with myself.”
The set back prevented her from racing in two of the biggest competitions of the season this summer, a summer where other talents would make some serous noise, mainly Sara Curtis in the 50 back.
Curtis blasted a 26.63 in the semifinals of the European Championships, which initially lowered McKeown’s former mark of 26.86 from 2023, before later clocking an even faster time in 26.56. Rather than feel intimidated by the time, she looks at the new standard as fuel.
“It fuels the fire in the belly… I’m all for taking people down,” McKeown said in the report from the Sydney Morning Herald. “Mentally, it takes the pressure off me. She’s going to be asked all the hard questions. She’s the one who’s supposed to win this event. I’m just going in trying to chase her down. That’s the way I like it going in.”
She adds that she is no longer a guarantee to land on the podium, which also adds motivation to come back even stronger.
“I think it’s going to be really hard for me to get on the podium. I wouldn’t be as hungry if I knew it was a guarantee that I was going to stand on a podium.” McKeown said. “Seeing my world record in the 50 get taken, Regan still having the 100 backstroke world record and me only holding the 200 backstroke world record, probably not for much longer, those things are always in the back of my mind and drive me.”
Despite the setbacks and limited competition going forward, McKeown does not feel as though she is done throwing down some big times.
“I believe I have more in the tank, I don’t want as much external pressure from media and extended friends. I don’t really care because I’ve achieved more than I ever thought I could. I’ve achieved stuff that some people will never be able to do. I’m OK with whatever happens.” McKeown said. “Ultimately, I’d love a three-peat of the 100 and 200 backstroke, but if I can’t do that, who’s going to be able to take my medals away? No one can. You can take world records. They’re meant to be broken.”
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