Australian Olympic champion Kaylee McKeown has paid tribute to her late father after her second consecutive 100m backstroke gold medal.
The 23-year-old trailed at the turn but thundered home to edge out American pair Regan Smith and Katharaine Berkoff in a thilling finish.
Her win means McKeown has the chance to become the first swimmer ever to defend 100 and 200m backstroke crowns when she races in her heat for the latter on Thursday night (AEST).
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McKeown lost her father, Sholto, in August 2020 after a two-year battle with brain cancer.
Sholto’s dream was to see both of his daughters compete at the Olympics.
He got to see Kaylee’s older sister Taylor at Rio in 2016 but, in a heartbreaking twist of fate, never got to see Kaylee because of the delay to Tokyo 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
If not for the virus, Kaylee’s dad would have seen her in Tokyo.
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’.
![Kaylee McKeown celebrates after winning gold in the 100m backstroke in Paris.](https://images.7news.com.au/publication/C-15535169/27bdfacfff41faaafb96c2cf13db2dc8f6327063.jpg?imwidth=650&impolicy=sevennews_v2)
![Kaylee McKeown celebrates after winning gold in the 100m backstroke in Paris.](https://images.7news.com.au/publication/C-15535169/27bdfacfff41faaafb96c2cf13db2dc8f6327063.jpg?imwidth=650&impolicy=sevennews_v2)
Speaking to Nine after Wednesday morning’s triumph in the 100m backstroke, McKeown said her dad helped her secure the win.
“Expectation, I think, is a privilege, and if you get that privilege, it’s something special,” she said.
“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.
“It just feels wonderful to be here.”
The emotional Aussie said her dad would be immensely proud.
“I’m not going to swear but we can all put words together,” she said.
“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.”
![Kaylee McKeown (right) with her sister Taylor (left), mum Sharon, and late father, Sholto.](https://images.7news.com.au/publication/C-15535169/e605c66132feba1b9311e70547583621c661a7af.jpg?imwidth=650&impolicy=sevennews_v2)
![Kaylee McKeown (right) with her sister Taylor (left), mum Sharon, and late father, Sholto.](https://images.7news.com.au/publication/C-15535169/e605c66132feba1b9311e70547583621c661a7af.jpg?imwidth=650&impolicy=sevennews_v2)
![Kaylee said her dad was her best friend.](https://images.7news.com.au/publication/C-15535169/b28867caf227e8b63e43dcbadf4510d90bb03673.jpg?imwidth=650&impolicy=sevennews_v2)
![Kaylee said her dad was her best friend.](https://images.7news.com.au/publication/C-15535169/b28867caf227e8b63e43dcbadf4510d90bb03673.jpg?imwidth=650&impolicy=sevennews_v2)
![Kaylee with her dad as a baby.](https://images.7news.com.au/publication/C-15535169/cc7a95fa78d53fb67b32732aa070fbb30cb6df65.jpg?imwidth=650&impolicy=sevennews_v2)
![Kaylee with her dad as a baby.](https://images.7news.com.au/publication/C-15535169/cc7a95fa78d53fb67b32732aa070fbb30cb6df65.jpg?imwidth=650&impolicy=sevennews_v2)
Kaylee’s mum Sharon, alongside Taylor and her two brothers, was jumping out of her skin after the race.
She said Sholto “would be saying: ‘F yeah!’”
“We have a little superpower thing, and I said to her, ‘We know that dad’s there as a superpower’.
At the time of his passing, McKeown said it was “one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to come to terms with”.
“The man who once taught me how to walk, talk and live is no longer a phone call away. Instead he is now a precious and timeless memory tied closely to my heart,” she continued.
“I will never understand why bad things happen to good people, but I know now that time waits for nobody. Whether it’s the best of times or the worst of times, it’s the only time we’ve got.
“Sometimes there will be no next time, no second chance, no time out. Sometimes it is now or never, and that is exactly how my dad taught me to live my life.
“Be present, be grateful and remember to tell the people around you that you love them, because moments can become memories in the blink of an eye.
“I’ll never forget how selfless my dad was, he was the greatest dad I could’ve asked for! My biggest cheer leader, my best friend.
“He gave me so much in life, the best childhood a kid could ask for. I’d do anything just to be able to speak to him again.
“Until then I’ll never stop living for the both of us, here’s to you, dad.”