Kai Taylor (born 18 August 2003) is an Australian

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

. He competed in the men's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

, where he won a silver medal. Taylor is the son of Australian swimming Olympic medallist

Hayley Lewis Hayley Jane Lewis, OAM (born 2 March 1974), is an Australian former competitive swimmer best known for winning five gold medals and one bronze medal at the 1990 Commonwealth Games as a 15-year-old. Lewis is a former host of ''The Biggest Lo ...

Swimming career

2023 Australian Swimming Trials

Taylor competed in 3 events at 2023 Australian Swimming Trials: the 50 metre, 100 metre and 200 metre freestyle. On Day 2, Taylor finished 9th in the heats of the 200 m freestyle in 1:48.37. Due to

Kyle Chalmers Kyle Chalmers, (born 25 June 1998) is an Australian competitive swimmer. He is a world record holder in the short course 100 metre freestyle, 4×100 metre medley relay, and long course 4×100 metre mixed freestyle relay. He is the Oceanian ...

' decision to withdraw from the final, Taylor swam in his place and went on to win the final from lane 8 in 1:46.25. On Day 4, Taylor qualified for the final of the 100 m freestyle in seventh place, then came fourth in the final in 48.60 s. On Day 6, Taylor finished 14th in the heats of the 50 m freestyle before winning the B final. At the end of the meet, it was announced that Taylor was selected in the team for the

2023 World Aquatics Championships The 2023 World Aquatics Championships, the 20th edition of the World Aquatics Championships, were held in Fukuoka, Japan, from 14 to 30 July 2023. Originally scheduled to be held in 2021 as the 19th championships, the championships were postpo ...

to swim the 200 m freestyle individually, as well as the 4 x 100 and freestyle relays. He became the 852nd person to represent Australia in swimming.

2023 World Aquatics Championships

On Day 1, Taylor swam the third leg of the freestyle relay heat, splitting 47.59 s and qualifying Australia to the final in second. As a result, he was selected to swim the third leg in the final, where his 47.91 s split helped Australia to the gold medal. On Day 2, Taylor swam the heats of the 200 m freestyle, however he finished 20th and did not progress to the semi finals. On Day 6, Taylor swam the third leg of the freestyle heat, producing the fastest split in the field of 1:44.59 to qualify Australia to the final in first. In the final, he swam the first leg in 1:45.79 as Australia finished third. On Day 8, Taylor swam the freestyle leg of the medley relay heat, splitting 47.69 s and qualifying Australia for the final in third place. He was eventually replaced by

for the final as he earned a bronze medal.

2024 World Aquatics Championships

Taylor was selected in the Australian team for the

2024 World Aquatics Championships The 2024 World Aquatics Championships, the 21st edition of the World Aquatics Championships, were held in Doha, Qatar, from 2 to 18 February 2024. Originally scheduled to be held in November 2023, the championships were postponed until February ...

to swim the 100 metre and 200 metre freestyle events, as well as relays. In each of his individual events, Taylor advanced to the semi-finals however did not advance to the final. Due to the reduced team size at the championships, Taylor swam the butterfly leg of the men's 4 x 100 metre medley relay, however the team finished 9th in the heats and did not advance to the final. In the mixed 4 x 100 freestyle relay, Taylor swam the first leg in both the heat and the final, where he set his personal best time of 48.01 s as Australia won a silver medal.

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* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Kai 2003 births Living people Australian male freestyle swimmers Olympic swimmers for Australia Olympic silver medalists for Australia Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Olympic silver medalists in swimming Olympic bronze medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 2024 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming 21st-century Australian sportsmen