Kaylee McKeown was left choking back tears as she paid tribute to a special cause in honour of her late father after making her second Olympic team.
For the second time at the Australia swimming trials, McKeown fell just shy of breaking her own world record, hitting the wall just 0.16 of a second short in the 200m backstroke final.
The 22-year-old was under world record pace at both the 50m and 100m marks but slipped behind the red line in the third 50. She was unable to catch her time despite a late push with 2:03:30.
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McKeown has taken on a new role outside of the pool and joined the Mark Hughes Foundation as an ambassador.
In a moving tribute after the race, McKeown wore the new Mark Hughes Foundation beanie as she reflected on her late father’s two-year battle with brain cancer.
“I thought I’d be able to hold it together,” she said.
“I lost my dad in 2020 to brain cancer, just before the Olympics.
“With every swim that I do, he’s always there with me.
“It means a lot to partner with the Mark Hughes Foundation just to bring more awareness. There’s not a lot of funds [for the disease] so if I can do my little bit that’s as much as I can do.
“I’m proud to represent not only my family but my dad as well.”
Mark Hughes is a rugby league great who survived brain cancer and is behind the foundation to raise funds and awareness to help fight the insidious disease.
This weekend, the NRL is getting behind the foundation during its annual ‘Beanies for Brain Cancer’ round, with McKeown’s support perfectly timed.
Sholto McKeown died in the months leading up to the Olympics in Tokyo, becoming a driving force for the Aussie swim star.
McKeown was just 0.08 of a second off her own world record in the 100m backstroke earlier at the trials, but is ready to defend her gold medal haul from Tokyo in just over a month.
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”I’ve got my ticket to Paris so I’m hoping to be on the big stage for that,” McKeown said.
McKeown carved up the pool in Tokyo and aims to do the same in Paris, however, a gold medal will not come easily as American rival Reagan Smith prepares to hit the pool deck come Sunday to book her ticket to Paris.
“It doesn’t bother me at all to be honest,” McKeown said of her close world record attempt.
“I’m just happy to still be swimming around that time. There’s not many people in the world that are doing it at the moment.
“There’s one I can think of and she’s about to get up and race.
“I’m nervous to see what she [Smith] does but I’m excited for the battle in Paris.”
Earlier, 17-year-old Jaclyn Barclay secured her ticket to Paris for an Olympic debut, joining McKeown in the 200m backstroke.
Aussie swimming champion Emily Seebohm bid farewell to her campaign to become a five-time Olympian, falling just short in both the 100m and 200m backstroke events.
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