Kai Taylor
Australian swimmer (born 2003)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kai Taylor (born 18 August 2003) is an Australian swimmer.[1] He won two medals the 2024 Summer Olympics.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | Australian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 18 August 2003 South Brisbane, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Dean Boxall | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Early life
Taylor is the son of Australian swimming Olympic medallist Hayley Lewis.[2]
Swimming career
Taylor competed at the 2023 Australian Trials in Melbourne. He finished ninth in the 200 m freestyle heats, initially missing the A final. However, he was promoted to the A final after Kyle Chalmers, the fastest qualifier, withdrew. Taylor finished first from lane 8, recording a time of 1:46.25.[3] He later came fourth in the 100 m freestyle with a time of 48.60.[4] These performances qualified him for the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka.[5]
In Fukuoka, Taylor's first event was the 4×100 m freestyle relay. He swam the third leg and split 47.91. Australia won the gold medal in a final time of 3:10.16.[6] His next event was the 200 m freestyle, where he recorded a time of 1:46.94 to finish twentieth in the heats. In the 4×200 m freestyle relay, Taylor swam the third leg in the heats, splitting 1:44.56.[7] He swam the first leg in the final with a split of 1:45.79. Australia won the bronze medal with an overall time of 7:02.13.[8] Taylor's final event was the 4×100 m medley relay, where he swam the freestyle leg in the heats.[9] He was replaced by Chalmers in the final and Australia ultimately won the bronze medal.[10]
Taylor competed at the 2024 World Championships in Doha. He went 1:46.37 in the 200 m freestyle to finish ninth.[11] He then competed in the 100 m freestyle, finishing thirteenth in a time of 48.50.[12] His final event was the mixed 4×100 m freestyle relay, where he split 48.01 on the first leg, winning the silver medal in a time of 3:21.78.[13]
Taylor qualified for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. He swam in the 4×100 m freestyle relay, splitting 47.72 on the third leg to move Australia into fourth place at the 300 m mark. Australia eventually won the silver medal in a time of 3:10.35. Taylor later competed in the heats of the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay and split 1:47.60 on the first leg.[14] He was replaced in the final, and Australia eventually won the bronze medal.[15]
At the 2025 World Championships in Singapore, Taylor competed in the 4×100 m freestyle relay. He swam the second leg and split 47.04 to keep Australia in second place at the 200 m mark. Australia won the gold medal in a championship and Australian record time of 3:08.97.[16] Taylor then swam the third leg of the 4×200 m freestyle relay. Australia was in fourth place at the 400 m mark, but a 1:44.64 split from Taylor moved the team to third place upon the completion of his leg. Australia won bronze in a time of 7:00.98.[17]