Paris 2024 Swimming: Kaylee McKeown sets Olympic record and wins gold in women's 200m backstroke - full results

Australia’s Kaylee McKeown swam an Olympic record of 2:03.73 in the women’s 200m backstroke final, powering past her rivals to set a blisteringly fast time in front of 15,000 spectators at Paris La Defense Arena on Friday, 2 August.

The new Olympic record holder was third at the end of the first length, but managed to overcome two separate challenges from Team USA’s Regan Smith and Canada’s Kylie Masse to claim a gold medal in sensational fashion.

“I probably took my race out too hard,” admitted McKeown. “I was a little nervous going out tonight. I’m not one who gets overly nervous, probably more anxious than anything, so I went out hard and held on for dear life.”

The race started at a furious pace, with Mckeown, Smith and Masse all charging towards the first turn. Masse reached the wall first, followed by Smith and McKeown. All three maintained their brisk tempo heading into the second turn.

It was on the second length of the pool that Smith established herself as the leading candidate for victory, turning almost 0.50 seconds ahead of Masse and more than 0.60 seconds ahead of McKeown.

All three entered the third length looking to make a definitive move.

McKeown ramped up the pace on the third length, gaining nearly half of second on Smith, and passing a fading Masse. Smith held off McKeown until the fourth leg, but the Australian had a little energy left in reserve. She powered past the American, chasing the world-record mark and touching the wall in 2:03.73.

It was the fastest time in Olympic history.

Kaylee McKeown pays tribute to her swimming family

McKeown, a four-time gold medallist, reflected on her success at the Olympic Games after the race, saying: “Growing up, I’ve always just idolised my sister and Emily Seebohm and seeing what they do in the sport, and then training alongside Emma McKeon, one of the greats in the sport, and being friends with Mollie O’Callaghan. I couldn’t ask for much more, to be honest with you.”

She added, “Having that motivation, seeing those girls, not just the Aussie girls - female sport has been unreal this year, and it’s great to be a part of it.”

Regan Smith was also feeling glad to be a part of that trend, despite finishing in second behind McKeown. She finished with a time of 2:04.26 to claim the silver medal.

“If I’d gotten a silver medal and been a second slower, I would have been really disappointed in myself,” said Smith. “That’s one of my fastest times ever, and I really gave Kaylee a run for her money. I made things close and exciting. I’m thrilled with it."

Smith swam hard from the gun, clocking her fastest splits during the first two lengths of the pool. Unfortunately, her early pace left her without much in the tank, and McKeown overhauled her in the final metres of the race.

Still, it was an improvement on her bronze medal from Tokyo 2020.

“It feels really great, I put together a really good swim,” said Smith. “Being in lane seven really helped me stay in my own lane and not focus on what my competitors were doing.”

She added: “In the past I’ve really got too concerned about what people around me are doing, rather than focusing on my own race plan. I especially do that in the 200m backstroke because of my history with it, so I think it was nice to have a little bit of outside smoke and put some pressure on things.”

She certainly put some pressure on Canada’s Kylie Masse, who finished over a second behind her to claim the bronze medal.

Masse started the race quicker than McKeown and Smith, but paid for her early exertion later on in the race. She finished with a time of 2:05.57.

“I knew tonight’s race was going to be difficult, and I knew I was going to have to fight to the very end,” said Masse. “Those final metres were fighting, for sure. I’m really pleased to be on the podium.”

She joined McKeown and Smith for the obligatory medal selfie and then celebrated her achievement with supporters.

Swimming: Women’s 200m backstroke

Gold: Kaylee McKeown, AUS

Silver: Regan Smith, USA

Bronze: Kylie Masse, CAN

See all the results on Olympics.com.