Kaylee McKeown recently made her feelings known about defeating the American swimmer Regan Smith for the seventh time in international finals at the World Aquatic Championships. The World Aquatic Championships for the swimming community commenced on July 27 and will conclude on August 3 in Singapore.McKeown and Smith recently locked horns with each other in the women's 100m backstroke, where the Aussie showcased her dominance and clinched the gold medal in the event. She recorded a time of 57.16 s to stand atop the podium, besting Smith, who clocked 57.35 s to claim the second-place finish.Ahead of this, the 24-year-old Australian got the better of the American in several international finals, including the 2021 Tokyo Championships, the 2023 Fukuoka Championships, the Paris Olympics, and more. Following the most recent win, McKeown was asked about how she feels about constantly besting Smith in international finals. Refusing any sympathy, she said:"Not at all. That’s swimming and the nature of it. You’ve got to be competitive and get up there. It’s just what happens. People beat people," said Kaylee McKeown.In the 100m backstroke showdown at the World Aquatics Championships, McKeown clocked only 0.03s outside Smith's world record of 57.13s, which she had set at the 2024 US Olympic Trials.Kaylee McKeown opened up about defending her 100m backstroke title at the World Aquatics Championships 2025 After smoothly defending her 100m backstroke title at the World Aquatics Championships against the world record holder, Regan Smith, Kaylee Mckeown made her feelings known about her performance in the post-race interview. Revealing that the win was an emotional one for her, she shared how hard it was to bounce back to her happy state (via Olympics.com):"It’s a little bit emotional. I've worked so hard to get myself back into a happy state and as I said in my interviews before, that's all I'm really focusing on. I think it just goes to show that a happy swimmer is a fast swimmer. I have trained hard, but I wasn't expecting to come out at PB tonight," said Kaylee McKeown.McKeown further spoke about her feelings on competing in the 100m backstroke and how she was scared to fail herself."What means most to me is being true to myself and being strong. There was a lot of comments of me pulling out of the backstroke saying that I'm scared to lose and that's not the case at all. If anything, I'm scared to fail myself, and I've worked really, really hard to get up there tonight and prove to myself that I am a good athlete, a good swimmer, and it doesn't matter if I come first or last," she added.Kaylee McKeown once opened up about struggling mentally after winning a gold medal at the Paris Olympics.