Cameron McEvoy created history by winning Australia’s first 50m men’s freestyle gold and ending his Olympic heartache of missing out at the past two Games.
And Kaylee McKeown continued her golden Games by becoming the first Australian swimmer to win four individual golds by claiming the 100m-200m backstroke double double by repeating her feats from Tokyo three years ago.
She touched the wall in a new Olympic record of 2:03.73 after pacing herself in the first three laps before the world record holder surged to the front to beat American Regan Smith and Canadian bronze medallist Kylie Masse.
For McEvoy, his win was vindication for his decision to challenge sports science by reducing his training program to concentrate on fewer laps at practice but more power.
The 30-year-old also became Australia’s oldest Olympic swimming gold medallist.
“It’s ultimately incredible, in the end I got I got the result that you go after and you try and get ” McEvoy told Nine at La Defense Arena straight after the race.
“It’’s hard to explain the two year process and it took even longer, like even from the start of my swimming career, but particularly the last few years and the route I took to get here.
“Just literally pure joy. It’s amazing to win but that entire 21.25 seconds was just bliss. The way the stroke moved in the water, I never thought I’d be able to experience that.
“I don’t think I’ve ever celebrated that much after a race either – that’s a first for me.”
The 30-year-old veteran clocked 21.25 seconds for the one-lap flurry to edge out British rival Ben Proud (21.3) and local hope Florent Manudou (21.56).
A physics student nicknamed The Professor who aspires to be an astronaut, McEvoy bases his training around technical minutiae in the water.
But outside the pool, he retains fitness with activities such as calisthenics and rock climbing rather than swimming endless laps.
He described himself as a “guinea pig” for his new methods of training.
“Getting the gold medal, that’s just kind of the tip of the iceberg,” he added.
“That act of creation effectively over the last few years to start from not really having much of an idea and then just developing something and seeing where it can go and myself being the guinea pig going through the motions in the same way … I think I’ll find it very hard to replicate in my life.
“That’s going to be something that I’m going to be most proud of forever.”
Aussie swim icon Ian Thorpe was proud of McEvoy for sticking to his guns to get to his ultimate goal.
“We waited so long to see this athlete be the athlete that he actually is,” he said on Nine commentary.
“He has been able to deliver what he’s always wanted to accomplish, what he’s always wanted to do. And what we’ve always known he could do.”
She’s not just only the first Australian Olympic with four individual golds, but the only swimmer to successfully defend Olympic 100m and 200m backstroke titles.
“Not in a million years … I couldn’t ask for much more,” McKeown said of her medal haul.
But ask again, she will.
On Saturday night, the 23-year-old is hunting more gold in the 200m individual medley – she qualified for that final just one hour after her historic 200m backstroke triumph.
“I didn’t think I would make the final so I’m super-stoked to be a part of that and just have fun with it tomorrow,” she said.
McKeown now has five golds in her Olympic career, with a women’s 4x100m medley victory at the Tokyo Games three years ago among her collection.
Fellow swimmer Emma McKeon holds the Australian record for most Olympic golds – six, with four coming in relays.
McKeown kept her 200m backstroke crown in stunning style, winning in an Olympic record time of two minutes 03.73 seconds, some 0.59 seconds outside her world record set last year.
Also on Friday night (Saturday morning AEST), Ella Ramsey joined McKeown in qualifying for the 200m medley medal race.
And fellow Australian Matt Temple secured a spot in the men’s 100m butterfly final, but teammate Ben Armbruster missed out.
In the only medal race not involving Australia, French megastar Leon Marchand won the men’s 200m individual medley – his fourth gold at his home-town Games.
Marchand joins American greats Michael Phelps (2004 and 2008) and Mark Spitz (1972), and East German Kristin Otto (1988) as the only swimmers to win four individual golds at the same Olympics.
with AAP
The Roarhttps://www.theroar.com.au/2024/08/03/pure-joy-its-a-mac-attack-as-mcevoy-creates-history-with-golden-victory-mckeown-snares-amazing-double-double/‘Literally pure joy’: It’s a Mac attack as ‘guinea pig’ McEvoy creates history, McKeown snares amazing ‘double double’
إرسال تعليق