Australian swimming star Kaylee McKeown will not rule out extending her career through to the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
The five-time Olympic gold medallist is yet to decide on her future beyond the 2028 Games, which will be hosted by Los Angeles.
McKeown, who is the 50-metre and 200m backstroke world-record holder, has previously spoken about experiencing a mental low after her successful Paris Olympics campaign.
In 2024, McKeown became the first swimmer to successfully defend Olympic 100m and 200m backstroke titles.
She was also the first Australian to win four individual Olympic gold medals.
Kaylee McKeown won two individual gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics. (Getty Images: Sarah Stier)
McKeown, 24, heads to next month’s Glasgow Commonwealth Games looking to defend her 100m and 200m backstroke crowns.
“You never know when it’s going to be your last. The last Commonwealth [Games] could have been my last,” McKeown said.
“After LA, I’m going to take some time off and probably think about what I want to do.
“I’m not putting something out of the question at all. I just need the time off.
“I’ve been doing this for a very long time now. Well, it feels like a long time.
“I just need the mental refresh.”
McKeown made her Commonwealth Games debut in 2018 on the Gold Coast.
She said the allure of the 2032 Brisbane Olympics was hard to ignore.
“I would love to be able to represent my country on home soil,” McKeown said.
“I missed out on 2000 [Sydney Olympics]. I was born in 2001, so I missed out on it completely, but you hear about it.
“You hear about all the greats and just the amount of people that were there to support them.
“There’s nothing better. I had the Commonwealth Games in 2018 on home soil, and that was cool in itself, so I couldn’t imagine an Olympics.”
AAP
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