Kaylee McKeown
(Picture: AP)An Australian swimmer was understandably over the moon after she won a gold medal at the Olympics – and didn’t hold back describing her feelings.
Kaylee McKeown won gold in the women’s 100-metre backstroke and set an Olympic record in the process. She completed the distance in 57.47 seconds, taking gold over Canadian Kylie Masse and American Regan Smith.
And so when a reporter asked her how she felt about her win, and whether she had anything she wanted to say to her family, she replied “f**k yeah”, immediately followed by “oh s**t” when she realised she had sworn on live television. Twice.
If you win an Olympic Gold Medal, you have earned the right to say what you like. Well done! pic.twitter.com/LG7r1ltdSV
— Glenn Munsie (@glennmunsieTAB) July 27, 2021
After the reporter laughed and she covered her mouth with embarrassment, she recovered and put both thumbs up, shouting “woo!”.
And reacting to her outburst, which has gone viral on Twitter, some people thought her slip was hilarious and gave her their support:
That’s double GOLD
— Craig C (@crackers6767) July 27, 2021
Classic Aussie. 👍👍👍🤣
— Salesy 🐶 (@SalesyNewy) July 27, 2021
Awesome!!! Pure joy of winning
— Paul Adlard (@PaAdlard) July 27, 2021
No one is going to hell for strong language. As others have said. Language is appropriate to it's context. I don't imagine any child is hearing something hear they haven't heard at school or when their parents are driving or stubbed their toe. Win an Olympic medal, you can swear.
— runciblespoon (@NJScott) July 27, 2021
Yes kids are watching. And you can tell them if they win a gold medal at the Olympics they get to say “Fuck Yeah” as well.
— Charlie Hop (@areadingmachine) July 27, 2021
That would be the most appropriate use of an expletive ever. Outstanding training and performance - if you don’t or can’t understand or excuse this, suggest you are missing a huge point!
— Kevin James Moore (@Kev_Pathologist) July 27, 2021
Others, however, thought her language was inappropriate and expressed concern that children watching the Olympics would hear her swear:
Yeah it’s no big deal but I don’t like it. That talk belongs in the Pub and the Pub only.
— Mr Bods (@BodsMr) July 27, 2021
Kids are watching
— Legends of Sport (@Legendsofsport8) July 27, 2021
She is not the only person to have a strong reaction to a win during this year’s games. Dean Boxall, Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus’ coach, similarly went wild in the stands after Titmus won gold in the 400-metre freestyle event.
And the Olympics will continue until 8 August so we anticipate that other athletes and their coaches will soon display similar reactions too.
