As Kaylee McKeown looked up at the scoreboard and saw the one next to her name, she put her hand over her mouth.
She was in disbelief. The 20-year-old from Redcliffe was an Olympic champion.
Winning an Olympic gold was never the dream for McKeown. Not because she lacked motivation or drive, she just never thought it would be possible.
"I never thought I’d be at an Olympics let alone an Olympic final," McKeown said in her press conference after winning the Women's 100m backstroke.
"To even stand up on the podium and have a gold medal around my neck is something a lot of people dream of and I hadn’t even dreamt of before.
"It’s something that I’m still soaking up and taking in."
It was quite simply an incredible race.
McKeown timed her run perfectly to pip Canada's Kylie Masse in the final 25 metres and go within milliseconds of breaking her own world record.
Not only did she produce an incredible result, but we saw one of the all-time great post-swim interviews when she dropped an F-bomb live around the country.
But it's been no secret the family tragedy that has driven McKeown to success over the last two years.
Last year, her father, Sholto, died after a two-year battle with brain cancer. It was his dream to see both his daughters swim at an Olympic Games and he was robbed of that opportunity.
She has a tattoo on her foot with the inscription 'I’ll always be with you', a message that her father is always watching over her.
And that was no more obvious than when she flew home down the final lap with Sholto willing her on.
McKeown compared his strength and support to a "superpower" that willed her to victory in Tokyo, an incredible metaphor from someone who has been through so much.
"I know it’s stupid of me to say but I can feel his presence," McKeown said.
"There are certain things that have popped up on my phone, it’s something that only he would say to me. There have been a few moments where I go ‘Okay, that’s definitely my dad and he’s here by my side’.
"He was with me that entire race, not just the last ten metres, so it’s kinda a little superpower I have to myself.
"When the global pandemic hit in, I saw it as a blessing in disguise. It gave us that extra prep to get in and train hard and for myself personally and my family personally, we were able to take the time because my Dad was diagnosed with a grade 4 tumour back in 2018.
"It just happened that things started to decline at the same time so we were able to spend as much time as possible with my dad and I’m very thankful I was there every step of the way for that."
"I'll have a word to her later." 🤣
— 7Olympics (@7olympics) July 27, 2021
Kaylee McKeown's mum doing mum things ™️#7Olympics | #Tokyo2020 | #Swimming pic.twitter.com/PUvGqVzf37
Understandably, McKeown had some nervous energy going into the race. It would have been hard not to going into your first Olympic final.
It's why she's so grateful she had another Aussie by her side to help her through the process.
Four-time Olympian Emily Seebohm finished fifth in the final but she played a big role in helping McKeown to victory.
Whether it was just to chat about their shared experience or offer advice, Seebohm has been there to help.
"I’ve been with Emily Seebohm a few times on this team, nowhere near as long as she’s been around for but it’s great to walk out with another Aussie by your side," McKeown said.
"Especially in the marshalling room, she’s always up for a chat.
"I’m so proud of her, this is her fourth Olympics, it’s hard to stick around in a sport for that long especially with swimming and how tough it is.
"She’s amazing and I hope to live up to her standard one day."
Along with Ariarne Titmus, McKeown has been the face of the Australian Swim Team heading into the Tokyo Olympics.
Having broken the world record at the Trials in June, there was a sense of expectation that McKeown was going to be able to bring home gold.
There's a wider sense of relief that now the talented pair have now both won gold medals but McKeown says it's down to the closeness of the entire team that they've been able to achieve the success that they have.
"I’ve been on the senior team now for five years and I think each year and each international meet that we’ve headed to, the team atmosphere has gotten better and better," McKeown said.
"We’ve really moulded and shaped together really well. I wouldn’t trade this team for any other team in the world.
"The Aussies have a certain pride behind them and I think we all just have each other's backs.
"Arnie is a different animal altogether. She’s very talented and puts in the hard work. I’ve seen her train and put in the hard work and she deserves every success.
"It’s not only us two that are forging together, it’s a whole Australian team. I really want to emphasise that because at the end of the day we wouldn’t be where we are without anyone who has gotten us where we are.
"To be the face is a privilege, it doesn’t go without the people who are standing behind us."
McKeown's next event will be the 200m backstroke with the heats beginning in the evening session on Thursday, July 29.
