Mum's The Word For Kai Taylor As He Gets Set To Make Dolphins Debut In Paris
"She’s really proud of me and just wants me to go out there and do my best. She’s coming over to watch and I can’t wait to see her in the stands and I know she’ll be cheering and proud." - Kai Taylor, son of Hayley Lewis
Kai Taylor can't wait to see mum up in the stands at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games when he takes to his blocks in relay action and becomes part of a long Dolphins tradition when action gets underway from July 27.
Taylor is the son of Hayley Lewis, who claimed 1992 Olympic silver in the 800m freestyle behind American Janet Evans and bronze in the 400m to share the podium with Evans and the German that year in Barcelona, Dagmar Hase.
Since leaving Australia for staging camps in France a few weeks ago, Taylor has been in touch with his folks and family back home and while he’s had chats with mum, “she’s not given me any advice,” he says in a deckside interview from Chartres, the Dolphins last den before the off to Paris.
"She’s really proud of me and just wants me to go out there and do my best. She’s coming over to watch and I can’t wait to see her in the stands and I know she’ll be cheering and proud." - Kai Taylor
At Olympic trials in Brisbane last month, Max Giuliani took the 200m freestyle in 1:45.83, just 0.02sec inside Taylor's season best, clocked at the Australian Championships in May. In the rush and blanket finish for Paris 4x200m relay berths in Brisbane, Thomas Neill grabbed the second solo ticket in 1:46.02, locking Elijah Winnington out by 0.06sec, Taylor grabbing the fourth and last guaranteed spot in 1:46.26.
Any disappointment over missing an individual Olympic spot soon vanished for Taylor, who reached for the thrill of what was to come: an Olympic debut as a Dolphin and a solid shot at the podium in a stacked 4x200m freestyle battle.
Taylor, 20, will enter the Athletes' Village next week conscious of the bread shoulders he's standing on: there's been no Australian gold in the Olympic 4x200m since Ian Thorpe, Michael Klim, William Kirby and Todd Pearson wowed a home crowd at Sydney 2000. Before that, the last Dolphin victory was also at home: Melbourne 1956. And the one before that? Stockholm 1912.
Speaking from staging camp in Chartres, Taylor said: "I've been training really hard and I'm really happy with how I'm going and I just can't wait to get into the village and represent Australia."
"I feel like I've talked to a lot of the guys here that have ... had a lot of Olympic experiences and they've been able to help me and get me ready for what's to come. Being in a relay with those boys is just amazing. And I can't wait to get up and represent Australia ... (previously) you've always just wanted to be in an individual race but now ... just to get into that relay means you have a real shot at getting a medal. And I feel like, we've got such a rich history."
