The most exciting result was her 400 medley time of 4:31.74 - a big personal best that ranked her second in the world. The multi-Olympic champ took on the 100 and 200 back, followed by the 200 and 400 medley events, securing first place in each. McKeown’s decision was immediately vindicated at the 2022 Australian Championships in Adelaide. Kaylee McKeown’s eyebrow-raising 400 medley times It’s what happens in the Olympic year.” - Kaylee McKeown to the Geelong Advertiser. “From here now it‘s stepping stones towards Paris… it doesn’t matter what you do. “I know it‘s a rough double, but I’m looking forward to challenging myself, hopefully making that happen,” McKeown told the Geelong Advertiser. That performance alone convinced her to add the medley to her already-gruelling repertoire in the run-up to the Paris 2024 Olympics. There could be no ‘what ifs' for McKeown. Her time of 2:08.19 was the eighth-fastest in history, and 0.3 faster than the time Yui Ohashi clocked to win Olympic gold. "I miscalculated and didn't put everything into the race like I did in Rio," said Seto, who won bronze five years ago but finished ninth in his heat here.Medal Moment | Tokyo 2020: Swimming 200m Backstroke - K McKeown (AUS) Stepping stones towards Paris 2024īut after becoming an overnight sensation back home, the Queenslander decided that she wanted to challenge herself further.Īt the Olympic Trials in 2021, McKeown actually won a third individual title: the 200 individual medley. He said he would have to put behind him the disappointment of Saturday's shock exit from the medley, an event where the 27-year-old is the world champion and the top-ranked swimmer. While these Games are over for Uchimura, swimmer Seto still has other chances of success at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre when he competes in the 200m butterfly and 200m individual medley. "Let me think about it when I go back tonight." "It may not be my last competition," said Uchimura, whose country is scheduled to host the world championships in October. 'King Kohei', who led his country to gold in the team event four years ago, had said he would retire after the Games but on Saturday left the door open. Even getting selected for the Japanese team was hard enough this time."
"In the last three Olympic Games I've been able to match the level of performance I'd reached in training - but not this time," Uchimura said. His preparations had been far from ideal, only earning a place at the Games via a tiebreaker last month, and with injuries to both shoulders suffered in 2019 having ruled him out of a defence of his all-around crown. It was also of some comfort after the earlier disappointment that a fairytale end to Uchimura's gymnastics career was not going to materialise.Ī seven-time Olympic medallist, Uchimura was the first man in 44 years to win back-to-back all-around golds at Rio 2016.
The 28-year-old's triumph in the 60kg final against Taiwanese Yang Yung-wei at the Nippon Budokan followed a bronze at Rio 2016 and ensured Japan had reason to celebrate on day one of a Games that many locals have been against hosting. There was also misery for the hosts in the pool when favourite Daiya Seto failed to make the 400m medley final.īut Japan celebrated their first gold, with victory for judoka Naohisa Takato.