- Kaylee McKeown won bronze after her American rival was disqualified
- The footage reportedly shows that he should have won silver.
- A second American swimmer made an illegal turn
Kaylee McKeown won a bronze medal in the individual medley when her American rival was disqualified, but new evidence shows the record-breaking Australian should have been awarded silver because another competitor broke the rules.
The Queensland athlete finished behind gold medallist Summer McIntosh of Canada, with Americans Kate Douglass and Alex Walsh touching the wall in second and third respectively.
However, Walsh was disqualified for a wrong turn when the group switched from backstroke to breaststroke.
Now, new insight shows that American swimmer Kate Douglass also executed a similar flip and got away with breaking the rule, according to News Corporation.
It is exactly the same infraction that saw McKeown eliminated from the semi-finals of the event at last year’s world championships.
That decision by officials last July left the 23-year-old furious after she entered the race as one of the favourites.
“I didn’t see my turn last night, but when I saw it this morning I thought it was completely unfair… these things happen,” he said after the decision in 2023.
“We have pictures and other angles that say the opposite of what the officers saw. You have to stick to what they say. Those are the rules and I broke them, apparently. I can’t do much about it.
Video shows American swimmer Kate Douglass (left) should have been disqualified from the controversial women’s 200m medley final.
Douglass allegedly executed an illegal spin similar to the one that led to her teammate Alex Walsh being disqualified from the event.
“Unfortunately, some people are dealt a bad hand. It’s a matter of trying to turn it into something positive and telling them ‘fuck it.'”
Under the rules, swimmers must not rotate more than 90 degrees on the front of their body when transitioning from backstroke to breaststroke, and Walsh was caught crossing that line at the 100-meter mark of the event on Sunday morning Australian time.
Now Douglass has been accused of the same mistake.
The drama saw McKeown win her seventh Olympic medal after setting multiple records in defending her Games crown in the 200m backstroke on Saturday.
Her victory made her the first Australian to win four individual Olympic gold medals.
McKeown is also the first swimmer to successfully defend the 100- and 200-meter backstroke titles in Olympic history.
She now has five golds in her Olympic career, with a victory in the women’s 4x100m medley at the Tokyo Games three years ago also in her collection.
“It’s a very nice detail to have next to my name. I admired a lot of great people when I was a child in this sport. Being among them is incredible,” she said.
“I think I have a lot more to give in this sport. I think honestly it’s because of my coach and my teammates. Those people and being around people like Emma are great.”
And above all, he dedicated the victory to his family.
The drama saw Australian golden girl McKeown win her seventh Olympic medal.
Queensland athlete holds Australian record for most Olympic golds
“It’s probably more than what the medal means to me. I don’t have words to express how much I love my family,” he said.
‘It’s a privilege to be here tonight, to be in the stadium with so many people, to be on the podium and see my team and my family behind me, it’s surreal.’
Emma McKeon holds the Australian record for most Olympic golds: she has won six, four of them in relays.
McKeown retained her 200m backstroke title in impressive style, clocking an Olympic record time of two minutes 03.73 seconds, some 0.59 seconds slower than her world record set last year in Sydney.
McKeown was third at the halfway point and second at the final turn before taking the win ahead of American Regan Smith (2:04.26) and Canadian Kylie Masse (2:05.57).
