McKEOWN Kaylee

General
FAMILY LOSS
Her father Sholto died in 2020. "My dad was quite ill, in and out of hospital, and on August 13 he passed away. So that was really hard, but we knew it was coming. It was a hard pill to swallow, but it's made me realise how much life is worth living. I just take every day as it comes and I honestly think that's the main reason I'm swimming as well as I am. There's no point in wasting the opportunities that you have in life. My dad always said he would love to have seen us swim at the 2020 Olympics together [with sister Taylor]. It's amazing, we would have been able to race at the Olympics if it had gone ahead, then come home and be able to see him. That's my biggest goal, to tick that box off for him. He always wanted to see that and you never know what they are doing up above, whether or not he can see that. It's always in the back of my mind. That's something he wanted to see us achieve." (smh.com.au, 21 Feb 2021)

INSPIRATIONAL SISTER
She says she is inspired by her older sister Taylor, who won a silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. "I watched my sister's four-year preparation for getting that Olympic silver medal. It was nerve-wracking and exciting because you've seen all the hard work that she had done and put behind it. And I've really looked to that as motivation and determination to work hard at training, to get to the Olympics and do your country proud. So, I want to be as good as her and live up to those standards in a way." (olympic.org, 13 Oct 2020)

Her four medals at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was the most medals won by an Australian athlete in any sport at the 2018 edition of the Games. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Nov 2020)