Kaylee Mckeown Weighs 2028 Break Before Olympic Future
kaylee mckeown is not closing the door on another Olympic run, but she plans to step away after the 2028 Los Angeles Games before deciding whether to keep racing. The five-time Olympic gold medallist said the break would come first, with a possible home Olympics in Brisbane in 2032 still in play.
Mckeown Plans a Post-LA Pause
“After LA, I'm going to take some time off and probably think about what I want to do,” she said. “I'm not putting something out of the question at all. I just need the time off.”
That leaves her future open without locking in a final answer now. The 24-year-old is heading into the rest of her program with the 2028 Games as the key marker, then a pause that could shape whether she keeps building toward another Olympics.
Glasgow Provides the Next Test
McKeown will head to Glasgow in July for her final Commonwealth Games, where she is set to defend the 100m and 200m backstroke crowns she won at the 2022 Birmingham Games. She made her Commonwealth Games debut in 2018 on the Gold Coast, and the Glasgow trip gives her one more major meet before the Olympic question comes back into focus.
Last week’s swim trials showed she is still producing elite times even after shaking off illness. She posted the fastest times of the season in the 50m and 200m, and the third-fastest time in the 100m, enough to book her spot in Glasgow without easing off the pressure on the event that has defined her career.
Brisbane 2032 Remains the Pull
The lure of a home Olympics could still be the force that keeps her going. “I would love to be able to represent my country on home soil,” McKeown said, and Brisbane 2032 gives that idea a clear target if she chooses to continue after Los Angeles.
Her record already makes the decision one of the sport’s biggest watchpoints. McKeown became the first swimmer to successfully defend the Olympic 100m and 200m backstroke titles in 2024, and the first Australian to win four individual Olympic gold medals. She also holds the world records in the 50m and 200m backstroke, which means the choice after LA is not about whether she has more left to give, but whether she wants to keep going long enough to chase another home Games.
