Kaylee's going for Olympic gold
Above: Kaylee McKeown at the Olympic Trials. Picture: Delly Carr, Swimming Australia
Kaylee McKeown, born and raised in Moreton Bay, has a showdown with US rival Regan Smith tomorrow - and the medals may be decided in the final few metres.
McKeown's sister Taylor, who is in Paris, said the 100m backstroke final, at 4.56am AEST, may "come down to the last five metres.
"It makes me nervous because I know both girls want that title so badly," said the former Australian international swimmer.
"I think Kaylee is a natural racer and will do what she does best … give that whole race her absolute best.
"If she wins gold, that’s absolutely incredible, if she wins silver or bronze, that’s absolutely incredible. Either way, we are so proud of her and she is still a legend."
Only three one hundreds of a second separated Kaylee and Smith in the heats and only two one hundredths in the semi-final, though neither was pushed hard.
"I think she (Kaylee) looked relaxed, she executed the race strategy well in both her heat and her semi-final," Taylor said.
"She was smiling more and dancing in the marshaling room before her semi-final so that was a good sign to me that she was comfortable.
"Kaylee is a natural weapon, she will go out there and do her best.
"In the past, she has performed well with and without the pressure of a big international competition.
"She can swim fast anywhere and any time. We know tonight (Paris time) will be the right time."
Taylor - who was born in Redcliffe, raised in Caboolture and swam at Burpengary, like Kaylee - said Paris "has done an amazing job".
"Watching from the stands is the most epic feeling in the world. The crowd is electric and I can imagine it would make it hard for the athletes to hear their own thoughts.
"I feel like a little spec of sand in the grand scheme of how massive the stadium is."
Taylor gave students at Southern Cross Catholic College, Woody Point, an insight to the Games when she visited last month with the Olympics Unleashed program.
Double Olympic champion Grant Hackett backed Taylor, saying on Stan Sport: "This is going to be one the Games' big, big races.
“They have both held the world record in this race and they’ve even both held the world record in the 200m backstroke so these two are really fierce rivals.
“It’s going to be a matter of who can really nail the underwater really well.
“If they get the right start and turn, their swimming speed is actually quite similar so you’re going to want to make sure they nail those skills.
"It’s probably going to take another 0.3 to 0.5 of a second in time drop to take out the gold medal. It’s going to be a dogfight right down to the finish.
“Kaylee’s a racer and she is consistent. She performs at the big meets.
“She’s ready, she’s fit but she’s also a great racer as well and that’s what you need to be at the Olympics … I think she can get the job done tonight."