Paris Olympics: Historic Day For Cam McEvoy and Kaylee McKeown In An Australian Swim Staff Doused In Parisian Gold
Just like the world’ quickest man on water, Cam McEvoy, Australia held its collective breath for 21.25 seconds within the early hours of Saturday morning.
A nation then catching its breath, earlier than its “little fish” Kaylee McKeown made her personal history-making splash with a fourth particular person Olympic gold medal within the 200m backstroke, 37 minutes later.
BUNDLE OF JOY: Cameron Mcevoy of Australia celebrates after profitable the gold medal within the swimming 50m Freestyle Males Closing throughout the Paris 2024 Olympic Video games at La Protection Enviornment in Paris (France), August 02, 2024. Picture: DeepBlueMedia.
Again-to-back golds for an Australian staff basking on prime of the swimming medal tally with seven gold and sending celebrations into overdrive within the Paris La Protection Enviornment (and the Irish pub down the highway) and lightning up loungerooms and occasional machines again residence.
The 2 Queenslanders including gold medals quantity six and 7 for a spectacular week (to this point) and creating two particular items of historical past for this swimming mad nation.
Self-made new-age sprinter, McEvoy profitable Australia’s first ever medal in that helter-skelter 50 metres freestyle ultimate.
Out-touching the courageous Brit, Ben Proud by 0.05 (21.20) and French legend 34-year-old Florent Manaudou (21.56) profitable a exceptional fourth medal from his fourth Olympic ultimate.
McEvoy saying in his poolside interview on Channel 9 that his win was “Actually simply pure pleasure…it’s wonderful to win and that complete 21.25 seconds was bliss.
“The way in which my stroke moved by way of the water; I by no means thought I’d ever have the ability to expertise that.
“The enjoyment of the second I simply had and to get a gold medal with it….it’s unreal.”
Dissecting his race, McEvoy mentioned: “For about 48 metres it was wonderful, earlier than the final two metres realizing ‘I’ve bought to get this contact pretty much as good as I can, with solely a little bit of a glide.
“Pondering ‘oh no’ – fingers crossed. Then I rotated and noticed the first and I used to be fairly happy about that.
“It was very onerous to include myself. I don’t assume I’ve ever celebrated that a lot after a race ever -that’s a primary for me too…”
McEvoy, now 30, profitable Australia’s first ever medal –in an occasion first swum in Seoul in 1988 and a racing schedule that lined 3x50s (warmth, semi-final and ultimate) that took him a complete of 63.95 seconds (21.32, 21.38 and 21.25) – and he didn’t draw breath – till it was throughout!
SHOW MEDALS: Benjamin Pleased with Nice Britain, silver, Cameron Mcevoy of Australia, gold, Florent Manaudou of France, bronze present the medals after competing within the swimming 50m Freestyle Males Closing throughout the Paris 2024 Olympic Video games at La Protection Enviornment in Paris (France), August 02, 2024. Picture Deep Blue Media.
Heaping reward on his coach Tim Lane, his girlfriend Maddi Bone, his staff on the Queensland Academy of Sport and his household and associates.
Within the metropolis the place the pioneer of Australian Olympic swimming, Sydney’s Freddie Lane received our very first gold medals in 1900 – each received within the River Seine within the 220 yards freestyle – swum with the present – and the one off, discontinued Impediment Race.
And in 1924 when the Video games returned to Paris with Manly’s Andrew “Boy” Charlton setting a brand new world report to win Australia’s first gold medal within the 1500m freestyle.
It’s becoming that the Class of 2024 can have a good time that one centesimal anniversary of Charlton’s feats, writing it’s personal record-breaking chapter in Australia’s stellar swimming historical past.
Charlton, at simply 16 when he surged to his historic Olympic 1500m gold, which took him 20 minutes 06.6 – a brand new world report time.
Twenty-three-year-old McKeown additionally reserving her place in swimming’s annals in an Olympic report time of two minutes 03.73 secs (breaking American Missy Franklin’s 2012 time from London) to turn out to be Australia’s biggest ever particular person gold medallist, with 4 golds after finishing the 100/200m backstroke double defence from Tokyo.
Earlier than tonight’s 200m ultimate McKeown, along with her 100 and 200m golds from Tokyo and her 100m victory in Paris, had joined fellow Australian swimmers, the legendary Daybreak Fraser (cheering on from the Paris Enviornment), Murray Rose, Shane Gould and Ian Thorpe, present kayak golden woman Jess Fox and former observe sprinting legend, the late Betty Cuthbert and her present Dolphins teammate Ariarne Titmus all with three particular person gold medals.
McKeown now stands alone, for the second, with 4 particular person gold – a tally that may be very a lot a moveable feast with McKeown (200IM), Titmus (800m freestyle), and kayaker Fox, already the winner of a whitewater double in Paris) up within the new canoe cross occasion – all chasing the subsequent chapter.
It’s been 20 years because the final swimmer, Ukraine’s Yana Klochkova (2000 and 2004) created her personal double-double act defending her Sydney IM double over 200 and 400m, in Athens.
HISTORY MAKER: Kaylee McKeown of Australia has received 4 particular person Olympic gold medals.Two throughout the Paris 2024 Olympic Video games at La Protection Enviornment in Paris (France), July 30, 2024. Picture Deep Blue Media.
On her historical past making feats, a humble McKeown mentioned: “That may be a fairly cool factor to have subsequent to my identify and I’ve seemed as much as so many cool individuals rising up on this sport and to be amongst them is wonderful…and I’d by no means in one million years have thought I might have achieved what I’ve achieved. And I’ve a lot extra to offer on this sport and I feel it’s all all the way down to my coach Michael Bohl and my teammates…”
Hardly time to have a good time for McKeown who draped her third gold medal across the neck of her reluctant coach Bohl, earlier than dashing off for her 200IM semi-final.
Whereas a nation and her household and supporters continued to have a good time her history-making feats, her evening within the pool wasn’t completed; It was again to enterprise for “the little fish” as she’s identified within the McKeown family.
Qualifying for fourth Olympic ultimate earlier than she takes her place in Australia’s relay onslaught to wrap the meet up.
It’s been a continuous first six days for the Aussie Swim Staff – every week (that’s not fairly achieved) one doused in gold because the Dolphins proceed to make an enormous splash in a metropolis that holds a lot historical past…
