FLASH: Kaylee McKeown Shatters 100 Backstroke World Record at Aussie Short Course Champs
Australian swimming’s “Miss Unstoppable” Kaylee McKeown has tonight continued her world record backstroking assault, setting a new short course global mark in the 100m backstroke in Adelaide, clocking a time of 54.56.
McKeown, fresh from her history-making second Olympics in Paris, and only just returning to the training pool, took 0.33 off fellow Australian Minna Atherton’s 2019 world mark of 54.89.
The 23-year-old was pushed all the way by her fellow Paris teammate Iona Anderson (Breakers, WA) – who also clocked a personal best of 55.79 to finish second and Gemma Cooney (Brisbane Grammar, QLD) third in 57.80 – to christen the opening night of the four-day Australian Short Course Sprints at the SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre (Trials for the December SC World’s) in typical McKeown fashion – swimming faster than anyone else has ever swum
WORLD RECORD START: Kaylee McKeown off to a record breaking start at the 2024 Australian Short Course Championships in Adelaide.(Swimming Australia Image/David Mariuz)
But there was no catching the world’s greatest ever female backstroker who looked as smooth as ever with her 54.56 (12.82; 26.69; 40.59) seemingly effortless – as she now prepares to defend her 100 and 200m backstroke crowns at the 2024 World Short Course Championships in Budapest in December.
Kaylee admitting it was tough to comedown off the enormous high of her golden Olympics and also revealing she is yet to confirm her availability for the December World SC in Budapest.
“I had some solid down time after the Olympics and only decided to do the Short Course at the last minute but it’s been fun and very humbling to go to training and not make it through some sessions,” said McKeown.
“It’s been great…(the Olympics) has been a huge whirlwind…and something I never thought I would be able to achieve.
“But it has definitely been hard off the back if it….people don’t realise just how much of a high it is and then to come back down again…it has been a struggle and I have been pretty open with that but like I said I’m here swimming so it’s making me a bit happy.
“I was going a bit stir crazy, sitting at home, so decided to jump back in two and a bit weeks ago, and just increasing the sessions. I don’t mean to toot my own horn but we’re doing some pretty incredible stuff at training,” she said.
“I’ll see how I feel after World Cups (in October/November) … and see if I want to do World Short Course in December … but I’m not putting any pressure on myself.”
SURPRISE LOOK: Kaylee McKeown after setting a new world record in the 100m backstroke in Adelaide. (Swimming Australia Image/David Mariuz)
With Michael Bohl taking a well deserved break, McKeown has been training under Janelle Pallister – assistant coach to Bohl at Griffith University, a 1988 Olympian and mother of teammate Lani, on the Gold Coast.
“Janelle’s been an absolute legend. She’s taken us on board and obviously she’s been under Bohl for a few years now, so she knows what she’s doing. Lani also produced a great swim tonight, so did a few other young swimmers,” McKeown said.
The four-time Olympic backstroking gold medallist from Tokyo and Paris – now holds four of the six world records in Long Course (50 and 200 backstroke) and Short Course (100 and 200m).
In earlier record-breaking action, Queensland’s emerging teenager Edward Sommerville (Brisbane Grammar, QLD; Coach – Bobby Jovanovich) took just 1:40.64 (23.55; 49.04; 1:14.89) to announce his arrival onto the world stage. The 19-year-old, one of the young guns of Australian swimming upset Paris Olympian in a new Australian record time of 1:40.80 set by Cameron McEvoy in 2015 – and just 0.94 outside the world record of 1:39.70) held since 2012 by Frenchman Yannick Agnel.
While 23-year-old Paris Olympian and one if the real finds of Australian swimming over the past two years Josh Yong (UWA West Coast, WA; Coach: Ben Higson) set the second Australian record of night one, clocking 56.76 (26.86).Yong took 0.13 off the 2020 National mark set by Olympian Matthew Wilson to continue his climb up the international ladder – swimming into the top 25 all time in the world. He powered home past early leader 20-year-old Joshua Collett (Bond, QLD) 57.29 and Nash Wilkes (Southport, QLD) 57.68 – both Yong and Collett under the Budapest QT.
Women’s 200m freestyle:
ARMS LENGTH: Lani Pallister books her spot on the team for Budapest winning the 200m freestyle in 1:52.73.. (Swimming Australia Image/David Mariuz)
Paris Olympian, 4x200m freestyle golden girl Lani Pallister (Griffith University, QLD) won in a personal best time of 1:52.73 -the fifth fastest time by an Australian of 1:55.60. Dual Olympian (Rio and Tokyo) Lah Neal (Rackley, QLD) finishes second in 1:53.60, Abbey Webb (Cruiz, ACT) third in 1:54.72 and Brittany Castelluzzo (Tea Tree Gully, SA) fourth in 1:54.82 – all girls under the QT (1:55.60) for the World SC Championships in Budapest in December.
For the 22-year-old, who missed her two main events in Paris to then win gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay team, her December date for World Short Course a panacea after a mixed Olympic campaign.
“Budapest is just fun. I think it’s going to give me an opportunity to just enjoy racing, for the sake of racing without expectation. I just want to go and race, spend time with my friends, and kind of fall back in love with swimming,” Pallister said.
“My campaign in Paris wasn’t one that I expected or one that anyone else expected. I don’t think anyone really anticipates Covid and pulling out of two individual events at your first Olympics. So that was pretty tough to deal with coming home.”
Men’s 200m freestyle:
Queensland teenager Edward Sommerville (Brisbane Grammar, QLD; Coach – Bobby Jovanovich) took just 1:40.64 (23.55; 49.04; 1:14.89) to announce his arrival onto the world stage. The 19-year-old, one of the young guns of Australian swimming upset Paris Olympian in a new Australian record time of 1:40.80 set by Cameron McEvoy in 2015 – and just 0.94 outside the world record of 1:39.70) held since 2012 by Frenchman Yannick Agnel. Sommerville led all the way to keep Paris Olympian and Australia’s fastest LC 200m freestyler Max Giuliani (Miami, QLD) at bay. Giuliani second in a pb of 1:41.39, making him the fourth fastest Australian behind Sommerville, McEvoy, Kyle Chalmers (1:40.98) and Ian Thorpe (1:41.10). 17-year-old Marcus Da Silva (Cranbrook, NSW) finished third in a pb of 1:43.22 – all three under the World SC Championships QT.
WORLD ALL-TIME TOP TEN
| 1 | 1:39.70 | Yannick Agnel FRA |
| 2 | 1:39.72 | Sunwoo Hwang KOR |
| 3 | 1:40.08 | Danila Izotov RUS |
| 4 | 1:40.25 | Duncan Scott GBR |
| 5 | 1:40.49 | Townley Haas USA |
| 6 | 1:40.64 | Ed Sommerville AUS |
| 7 | 1:40.65 | Matthew Sates RSA |
| 8 | 1:40.79 | David Popovici ROM |
| 9 | 1:40.80 | Cameron McEvoy AUS |
| 10 | 1:40.82 | Kyle Chalmers AUS |
Women’s 100m breaststroke
KINDER COOL: Tara Kinder (Melbourne Vicente, VIC) with Sienna Toohey (Albury, NSW) after winning the women’s 100m breaststroke (Swimming Australia Image/David Mariuz).
The next generation of Australian breaststrokers led by 21-year-old Tara Kinder (Melbourne Vicentre, VIC), 1:05.23, 20-year-old Sienna Harben (Bond, QLD) 1:05.28 and 15-year-old Lily Koch (Nunawading, VIC) 1:05.43 have breathed some life back into Australian women’s breaststroke swimming – both Kinder and Harben achieving the QT of 1:05.28 with Koch setting her second Australian Age record of the day after her impressive heat swim this morning.
Men’s 100m breaststroke
Twenty-three-year-old Paris Olympian and one if the real finds of Australian swimming over the past two years Josh Yong (UWA West Coast, WA; Coach: Ben Higson) set the second Australian record of night one, clocking 56.76 (26.86).Yong took 0.13 off the 2020 National mark set by Olympian Matthew Wilson to continue his climb up the international ladder – swimming into the top 25 all time in the world. He powered home past early leader 20-year-old Joshua Collett (Bond, QLD) 57.29 and Nash Wilkes (Southport, QLD) 57.68 – both Yong and Collett under the Budapest QT.
Meanwhile in other events….Rackley QLD’s 19-year-old Lachlan Walker, proved too strong for Paris 10km Marathon silver medallist Moesha Johnson (Griffith University, QLD) in the women’s 1500m freestyle – the Brisbane teen swimming under the QT of 16:09.72 becoming the 8th fastest Australian with her pb of 15:52.90 – pulling away from Johnson (15:59.36) and Jacqueline Davidson-McGovern (St Peters Western, QLD) 16:04.95 – all three girl under the World Championship QT.
Earlier in the night, dual Olympian Isaac Cooper (St Andrews, QLD) pulled out a World Championship qualifier, winning the men’s 100m backstroke in 50.17 (outside his pb of 49.52) with Kalani Ireland (Somerville House, QLD) producing his personal best in a time of 51.35 – just shy of the 51.01 QT, with Enoch Robb (All Saints, QLD) a touch behind in third in 51.38.
JOSH DOUBLE: Josh Yong (right) and Joshua Collett all smiles after their 1-2 in the men’s 100m breaststroke. (Swimming Australia Image/David Mariuz).
The women’s 50m butterfly saw Paris Olympian Alexandria Perkins (USC Spartans, QLD) clock a pb of 24.99 – the first time under 25 seconds and the fourth fastest time by an Australian ahead of Lily Price (Rackley, QLD) 25.38 and Olympic backstroke finalist Iona Anderson (Breakers, WA) third in 26.12.
With Jesse Coleman (Bond, QLD) winning the men’s 50m butterfly in a pb of 22.63 (6th fastest Australian) from dual Olympian Matt Temple (Marion, SA) 22.78 and Alex Quach (SOPAC< NSW) 23.02.
The men’s 800m saw WA’s Alex Mander (South Shore, WA) just miss the QT of 7:37.54 – despite taking 10 seconds off his pb with a fast finishing 7:38.94, from Matthew Galea (SOPAC, NSW) 7:40.55 and Lachlan Walker (Griffith University, QLD) 7:41.00.