Kaylee McKeown Delivers Backstroking Masterclass At The Victorian State Championships
The world’s fastest female backstroker Kaylee McKeown has continued her Victorian State Championships masterclass with a sizzling 57.93 to win the 100m backstroke on night two at the Melbourne Sports And Aquatic Centre tonight.
The 23-year-old from Griffith University on the Queensland Gold Coast clocked her sixth sub-58 second time of her career – splitting 27.20 – just 0.10 outside her 2021 split on her way to her world record of 57.45 at the Olympic Trials in Adelaide
McKeown set a new Victorian record, lowering her own previous mark she established last year at 58.31.
It follows her impressive night one victories in the 100m breaststroke and 100m freestyle – giving the triple Olympic champion a third title – and showing she certainly means business as she sets her sights on this year’s Fina World Championships in Fukuoka.
McKeown has been the benchmark in women’s backstroke for the past three years and tonight’s time is her equal fifth fastest time ever.
Although she didn’t swim the 100m backstroke at last year’s World Championships she did win the gold at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in a time slower than she swam tonight.
Here is a look at Kaylee McKeown’s best times under 58 seconds:
57.45 (WR) – Australian Trials Adelaide – June ‘21
57.57 (OR) – Olympics Tokyo July ‘21
57.63 – Sydney Open, May ‘21
57.88 – Olympics, Tokyo May ‘21
57.93 – Queensland Championships, December ‘20 and;
57.93 – Victorian Championships, Melbourne February’23
The men’s 200m backstroke saw five-time Commonwealth Games medallist Bradley Woodward (Mingara, NSW) take the win in 1:58.65 from his 2022 Birmingham teammate Josh Edwards-Smith (1:59.80) – the Aussie boys ganging up on New Zealand’s Andrew Jeffcoat (2:00.15).
In other events Tokyo Olympians Maddy Gough (Carlile, NSW) and Tamsin Cook (Melbourne Vicentre, VIC) fought out the women’s 400m freestyle with Gough repeating her efforts that won her last night’s 800m.
The 1500m Olympic finalist clocked 4:11.40 to record a comfortable win over two-time Olympian Cook (4:14.91) with Jessica Lavin (Yeronga Park, QLD) 4:23.16 third.
Gough’s fellow Tokyo Olympian and Carlile team mate Se-Bom Lee won the men’s 200IM in 2:01.59 from Victorian pair Marco Soestanto (Melbourne Vicentre) 2:03.61 and Elliot Rogerson (Nunawading) 2:04.15).
While Nunawading’s Isabella Boyd denied the Carlile club a third win taking the 100m butterfly in 59.69 ahead of Carlile’s Olivia Wunsch (1:00.15) with Kayla Costa (Southport Olympic, QLD) third in 1:00.36.
But later in the evening Wunsch wasn’t to be denied that third win – taking the 50m freestyle in 25.46 from Slovenian visitor Klancar Neza (25.58) with Boyd third in 25.97.
Another visitor, Japan’s Kotomi Matsugi winning the women’s 200m breaststroke in 2:30.58 ahead of Mikayla Smith (Griffith University, QLD) 2:31.28 and Nunawading’s Zoe Deacon (2:32.98).
World Short Course medley relay gold medallist Joshua Yong (UWA West Coast, WA) was an impressive winner in the 100m breaststroke in 1:00.19, beating Japan’s Yuta Imanishi (1:02.50) with Western Melbourne Propulsion’s Adam Selwood third in 1:03.03.
The men’s 200m freestyle went to 21-year-old Cameron Bladen (Tiger Sharks Swimming Club VIC) in 1:49.70 from Stuart Swinburn (City Of Sydney, NSW)( 1:50.69) and Wesley Roberts (Sydney Olympic Swim Club, NSW) 1:51.3.
And the men’s 800m freestyle saw Matthew Galea (Sydney Olympic Swim Club, NSW) take a comfortable win in 7:58.36 from Japanese pair Keigo Imamura (8:14.28) and Taisei Nukumi (8:18.17).