Kaylee McKeon says the swim is the same, just the city is different.
“Everyone always sees the Olympics as a big thing,” the Australian ace said.
“For me, I just learned it's just another city pool. I just jump in and do what I do best.”
McKeon isn't looking at the big picture ahead of the Paris Olympics.
But her coach, Michael Ball, does — and he sees her as a potential Olympic legend.
“She's still finding her way, but I think she has a long way to go,” Ball said of the 23-year-old.
“She is still very young and I'm sure she could do at least one more (Olympic) cycle if she wanted.”
“She's only going to get better and better over the next four years. There are so many events she can compete in.”
McKean enters Paris as the defending champion in the 100 and 200 backstroke.
She has added the 200m medley to her program and holds the fastest time this year in the gruelling event.
Swimmer Shane Gould, at the 1972 Munich Games, is the only Australian to win three individual gold medals at the same Olympic Games.
McKean will also compete in the medley relay in Paris and have a chance to match the four gold medals, two of which were relays, won by Dolphins teammate Emma McKean three years ago in Tokyo.
Ball believes McKeon can be world class in the 200m freestyle, 400m freestyle and even the 400m medley.
“She has a lot of things she can target,” he said.
“She likes doing different things and taking on different challenges.”
Ball's swimmers have won a medal at every Olympic Games since the 2008 Beijing Games.
McKeon will join Coach Master in early 2022, and the two speak glowingly of one another, but Ball said McKeon's fearless game face in public belies the athlete's insecurity.
“She's a bit of an anxious person,” Ball said.
“Just trying to calm her down.
She just wants to do well, so we're just trying to keep her as comfortable as possible in that environment.
“We're really close. I coached her sister, Taylor, for a while, so I know her family really well. Spending time together helps me get to know them better.”
“So it’s just knowing what buttons to push.
“When she's down, I pick her up, and when she gets overconfident, I put her down again. Just keep her level.”
Ball believes McKeon's Olympic defense is more mental than physical.
“She just needs to be ready,” he said.
“It’s environmentally conscious.
“I always say the Olympics is an unpredictable environment, there's a lot going on and it's chaotic.
“And the people who can stay calm and stay cool in those situations are the ones who can perform the best there.
“It's a battle in my mind, a mental challenge, not a physical challenge.
“When you're in an environment where everyone knows it's a once-every-four-year thing, it's hard and not easy to achieve great results.”
McKeon has been a dominant force in the 100m backstroke since breaking the world record held by American Regan Smith three years ago.
But Smith has been lurking, and the 22-year-old from Lakeville, Minnesota, set the record again last month at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
“We know world records will be broken,” Swimming Australia coach Rohan Taylor said.
“It's no surprise to me. Regan Smith is a world-class athlete. She burst onto the scene in 2019 and has continued to perform brilliantly ever since.”
“Kaylee has also come into that space so… it’s not a surprise.
“Kaley said at the trials it didn’t matter to her whether she came in first, second, third or fourth.
“She's going to race.”
And McKeon loves a good race.
“The better you get at the sport, the more individual ability you develop,” said McKeon, who still holds the two fastest records in the world in the 200-meter backstroke.
“I hope the world record will be broken, because it will help me improve as an athlete and that's all I can really hope for.”
“This rivalry has always been there, and it doesn't change no matter who else you're competing against in the world.”
Coach Ball said McKeon's love of fighting is one of the qualities that make her a champion.
“I'm sure she learned a lot from her last Olympics,” he said of Tokyo, where McKeon won gold in the women's 4x100m medley relay and bronze in the mixed 4x100m medley.
“She was much younger and less experienced then.”
McKeon said the Tokyo version is very different from the Paris one.
“As you get older, you grow and you learn more,” she said.
“From the last Olympics to this one, I have learned a lot and grown a lot. I have become more mature and have more control over my emotions.”
