Kaylee McKeown wins gold in field that includes idol Emily Seebohm

Kaylee McKeown’s amazing gold medal swim was made even more special because her long-time inspiration was just a few lanes away.

Kaylee McKeown and Emily Seebohm celebrate McKeown’s gold-medal winning performance in Tokyo. Picture: Tom Pennington/Getty Images

NOT all heroes end up on pedestals … some end up a few lanes away in an Olympic final.

For Kaylee McKeown, there was a special sense of poignancy in becoming an Olympic champion because the field included her long-time inspiration-turned-rival Emily Seebohm competing at her fourth and last Olympics.

Seebohm has been such an enduring backstroke star that she won the first of her two Olympic gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics when McKeown was an admiring eight-year-old.

McKeown’s sister Taylor, also an Olympian, remembers the inspiration Seebohm provided to Kaylee.

“When I was on the Australian team I roomed with Emily for the Commonwealth Games in 2014 and I remember vividly Kaylee telling me how jealous she was,’’ Taylor said.

“As a kid growing up you have your idols and for me that was Leisel Jones. For Kaylee it was always Emily. For those two to be on the Olympics together all these years later is so beautiful.

“Emily has been so nurturing. She has not had a bad thing to say about Kaylee. I train with Emily. She has been nothing but happy for Kaylee. It is great that she has been so lovely and so willing to help.

“She has helped a young girl come through and fulfil her Olympic dream. To make one Olympics is unreal because you have to be ranked in the top eight in the world.

“To make four Olympics means you have to be at the top of your sport for 12 years and that is amazing. Here she is at her last Olympics with Kaylee at her first. What a way to hand over the batten.’’

Seebohm played down her role as an inspiration to McKeown after the race but the McKeown family readily acknowledge it and the two embraced warmly after the race.

Taylor described her sister as an “animal’’ in terms of her ferocious training levels where she expends so much effort it pushes her to the brink of passing out.

“Anything after today is a bonus,’’ said Taylor. “We are totally different in our personalities and looks and strokes which is hilarious but we are similar in our senses of humour and every time we get together we have a lot of laughs.

“I sent her a video of herself as a little girl this morning and said “look how far you have come.’ The first thing she said to me was ‘make sure you don’t show that to the media.’’