Australian swimming star Kaylee McKeown has announced a self-imposed social media ban for the Paris Olympics as she hunts down an incredibly rare triple treat of individual gold medals. The 23-year-old enters as the defending champion in the 100m and 200m backstroke, while she has added the 200m medley to her program after recording the fastest time of the year to date. Fellow swimmer Shane Gould is the only Australian to win three individual golds at a single Olympics.
It’s the mental challenge, it’s not the physical challenge. “Being in an environment where everyone knows it’s once every four years, it’s difficult, it’s not easy to get those great results.” And so with that in mind McKeown has already gone dark — more than three days before her first heat. “I won’t be on socials this week,” she wrote on Thursday night in Paris. “Would like to thank everyone for all the well wishes so far.