Taylor McKeown misses out on medal in first Olympic final

Australia’s Taylor McKeown has placed fifth in the women’s 200m breaststroke final on Day 6 of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games

McKeown was the fastest qualifier heading into the finals with a time of 2.21.69s, beating current world record holder Rikke Pedersen from Denmark.

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Taylor McKeown competes in the women's 200m breaststroke finals. Photo: Getty

The 21-year-old Queenslander failed to beat her qualifying time and slipped from second place in the last lap of the event.

Japan’s Rie Kaneto took out the gold medal, with Russia’s controversial athlete Yulia Efimova finishing second in lane 7.

Efimova, who previously served a 16-month doping ban, won silver in the same event in London in 2012.

The US went unrepresented in the finals, an unusual outcome for the nation who took out gold in the event in the past three Olympics.

The last time Australia won gold in the 200m breaststroke was in 1972 by Olympian Bev Whitfield.