Aussies primed for more gold in Los Angeles as swimming sprints added to Olympics program
Updated . First published at
Kaylee McKeown rewrote Australian Olympic history at Paris 2024, taking out the backstroke double for the second straight Games.
Having dominated the 100-metre and 200-metre backstroke events in Tokyo and Paris, McKeown will soon have the opportunity to turn a double into a triple after six 50m events were added to the program for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
The inclusion of the men's and women's 50m backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly events come in addition to the International Olympic Committee's announcement of 351 medal events in 2028 — 22 more than in Paris — with new mixed gender teams events in athletics, golf, artistic gymnastics, archery, coastal rowing and table tennis.
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Kaylee McKeown reacts as she holds her gold medal after winning the women's 100-metre backstroke final at Pris 2024. AP
The Olympic women's football tournament will also become bigger than the men's edition, with 16 teams for the women and now 12 teams for the men.
This will flip the gender imbalance at Paris 2024, which had 16 men’s teams and 12 in the women’s tournament, in a shift that will impact the qualifying process for Australia's Matildas and Olyroos.
But it is in the pool where Australia has the best chance at capitalising on the program's changes, with the nation's top sprinters set to be unleashed across one lap.
The men's and women's 50m backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly are staples at world championships and international meets, but have never featured at the Olympics.
This is dissimilar to the 50m freestyle splash and dash, which has been on the Olympic program since making its debut at Seoul 1988.
After revolutionising the way he trained in preparation for Paris 2024, Cameron McEvoy, 30, became the first Australian man to claim gold in the event last year.
McEvoy had previously swum 20-40km each week to train for his 50m and 100m freestyle events.
But ahead of his fourth Olympic Games, he opted for a different approach, swapping hours in the pool for rock climbing and weights to build strength.
McKeown will be among the gold medal favourites in the 50m backstroke leading into LA 2028.
The nine-time Olympic medallist holds the world record in the event with a time of 26.86 seconds and won a gold medal at the 2023 world championships in Japan.
McKeown opted not to defend her backstroke titles at last year's world titles in Doha, with her focus solely on the Olympic Games.
With the expanded swimming program, McKeown will also have the opportunity to target four individual gold medals with campaigns in the 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke and the 200m individual medley.
Bronze medallists in the mixed 4x100m medley relay Joshua Yong, Mollie O'Callaghan, Kaylee McKeown and Matthew Temple. Getty
As it stands, Shane Gould is the only Australian to win three individual Olympic gold medals at a single Games.
With the new additions, LA's SoFi Stadium will host 41 medal events after being transformed into a swimming venue.
Having won 18 gold medals in Paris, Australia finished fourth on the medal table behind only the USA (40 gold), China (40) and Japan (20).
With a majority of the medals coming in the pool with seven gold, nine silver and three bronze (19 total), the new events could lift the nation to its best Olympic results yet.
