Pool queen Kaylee McKeown sends a big ‘f**k you’ to swim organizers – after the Aussie star was controversially disqualified from World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan
- McKeown has a blunt message for the organizers
- Champ was disqualified for stroke violation
- McKeown extra motivated to win the next race
Olympic swimming champion Kaylee McKeown has sent a big ‘f**k you’ to swim organizers after she was disqualified from the world championships and robbed of a likely medal.
McKeown and Aussie officials are confused by her disqualification from Sunday night’s 200m individual medley semifinal.
Judges ruled she broke the rules of stroke when she switched from backstroke to breaststroke – but McKeown claims she did nothing wrong.
“I didn’t see it last night, but this morning I saw the footage (see below) and I cried a little bit,” McKeown said.
“It was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, but you know, it’s sport and it’s what happens in sport. Unfortunately, some people just get the bad hand and I was dealt that bad hand.
Kaylee McKeown has a stern message for swim organizers after she was disqualified
Judges ruled she broke the rules of stroke when she switched from backstroke to breaststroke on Sunday night
“It’s just a matter of trying to flip it on the positive and just give the big F-you thing.”
Australian head coach Rohan Taylor lodged a formal protest to reinstate McKeown, but it was rejected.
“It’s done, they say no, they enforced it. I disagree 100%, but I don’t think it’s definitive. We protested against that,” he said.
“I watched the video… It’s about the corner. I said I don’t think it’s final and we protested that, but they said they’re sticking with it.
“In the end, those are the rules. They have that in place, they don’t want you rolling past 90 degrees. I disagreed, but the rules are the rules.
“They have cameras in every lane. That’s why it takes so much time in the sequences, because they look at everything, look at things.
“It will definitely be the world we live in now. That’s where it will be… She will learn from it. She has to move on to the next thing.’
McKeown says her disqualification from the medley only fueled her motivation to win even more races, including her favorite event – the 100-meter backstroke.
McKeown and Aussie officials are confused by her disqualification from Sunday night’s 200m individual medley semifinal
McKeown says her disqualification from the event only fueled her motivation
McKeown was photographed giving her sister Taylor the middle finger after winning silver in the 200m individual medley at the 2022 Commonwealth Games
‘S**t happens. Unfortunately it’s something I have to learn from. We have images and other angles that say something different from what the officials saw.
“You have to go with what they say. Those are the rules and I apparently broke the rules. There’s not much I can do about that,” she said.
‘I can’t really waste time. Left, right and center come Americans and Canadians. So I have to put my best foot forward and see where that takes me over the next two days.’
McKeown famously dropped the F-bomb in a live poolside interview after winning gold in the 100-meter backstroke at the Tokyo Games.
The Aussie star was also photographed giving her sister Taylor the middle finger after winning silver in the 200m individual medley at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.