Kaylee McKeown takes time to be “happy with small things” after 100m backstroke win on the Australian Open 2026 swimming championships

Self-imposed stress is one thing Kaylee McKeown is aware of effectively. It is an space by which she’s eager to enhance, which is why the five-time Olympic swimming champion made the trouble to completely have a good time her victory within the 100m backstroke on the Australian Open on Tuesday, April 7.

She clocked 58.06 seconds to beat reigning Olympic 200m freestyle gold medallist Mollie O’Callaghan, who hit the wall in 58.98.

And instantly after, McKeown took time to savour her second nationwide title in two days on the Gold Coast, having additionally received the 200m backstroke.

“I think to be one of the best athletes in the world you’ve always got to have that, not negative thoughts in the back of your head, but you’ve always got to be harsh, and that kind of just leads a way for there to always be improvement,” said the quintuple Olympic gold medallist, who clinched double gold at Paris 2024 and after her three titles on the Tokyo 2020 Olympics held in 2021.

“I believe I’ve gone too far over the sting on that. I’ve been approach too harsh on myself and never essentially seen the nice that I’m doing.

“Sometimes you can put in all the hard work, and sometimes it just doesn’t come out in the racing, and it’s really frustrating, but swimmers all the time plateau for a little bit, and sometimes it takes them months to get out of it, [or] weeks. Hopefully that’s not the case for me. “But, like I mentioned, [I’ve] simply acquired to be pleased with the small issues and remind myself that the top purpose is LA .”

The 24-year-old has huge plans if she makes it to a 3rd Olympics at Los Angeles 2028.

“I think leading into LA I just want to enjoy it, and if I can enjoy it past that I will keep going,” she mentioned of the following Games, the place she is tipped to lineup towards American favourites Regan Smith and Katharine Berkoff.

“In Paris, I needed to show that I wasn’t only a one-hit surprise, and I did that.

“And I think in LA I really just want to enjoy the experience. I don’t think we’re ever going to have an Olympics like that in my generation where there’s going to be that many people in the atmosphere.”