Kaylee McKeown Sets Commowealth 100 Back Record; Cate Campbell Solid in 50 Free
Queensland’s new wonder girl Kaylee McKeown has clocked the second fastest time in history with a new Commonwealth and Australian record of 57.93 in a stunning swim on the opening night of the Queensland State Championships at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre.
The 19-year-old from the USC Spartans on the Queensland Sunshine Coast becomes only the second swimmer ever to break the 58 second barrier – bettered only by American world record holder Regan Smith’s 57.57, set at last year’s Fina World Championships in Gwangju.
TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGING: Kaylee McKeown is writing her name into swimming’s record books. Photo Courtesy: Hanson Media.
McKeown’s time clipped 0.17 off Canadian Kyle Masse’s 2017 Commonwealth mark of 58.10 and 0.18 off her own Australian, Australian All-Comers and Queensland and Queensland All-Comers record of 58.11, set just a month ago in the same pool.
And it continues her remarkable month of record-breaking swims after her short course 200m backstroke world record, also set in Brisbane at the Swimming Australia Virtual SC Meet.
The Chris Mooney coached McKeown set the pool alight, splitting 28.46 for the first 50m before powering home down the second lap, swimming away from the field, hammering home a 29.47 back end split.
The longer the last lap went the stronger she looked, setting another milestone for the girl with her sights set on next year’s Olympics in Tokyo.
McKeown beat home her fellow world championship silver medallist from Gwangju, Minna Atherton (Moreton Bay) in 59.46 and another future star in 16-year-old Mollie O’Callaghan (St Peters Western) 1:00.31, just outside her best of 1:00.15.
And in an extraordinary show of stamina McKeown backed up 30 minutes later to win the 400m individual medley in the second fastest time ever by an Australian swimmer in a time of 4:32.73 – bettered only by 2008 Olympic champion Stephanie Rice’s 4:29.45.
While O’Callaghan set her second 16 years Queensland All-Comers record in one day in the 100m freestyle, clocking 54.65 in the heats and 54.25 in the final in another encouraging performance from this exciting youngster.
Meanwhile in Sydney, dual Olympian Cate Campbell (Knox Pymble) followed her sizzling opening night 100m swim of 52.87 at the NSW Senior Age Championships at Sydney Olympic Park with a solid 24.46 to take the 50m freestyle from sister Bronte Campbell (25.21) and Abbey Webb (25.41).
BEST TIME: Caps off to Alex Graham for a PB in the 200m freestyle. Photo Courtesy: ISL.
In other events at the Queensland Championships: Bond’s Alexander Graham staged a neck-and-neck duel with former training partner Elijah Winnington (St Peters Western) in the all-star men’s 200m freestyle with Graham clocking a brilliant personal best of 1:45.69 (51.56).
Winnington was also under his previous best in 1:45.79 (51.85) to move into eighth and ninth respectively on the Australian All-Time Top 10. Olympian Jack McLoughlin (Chandler) was third in 1:47.42 with Clyde Lewis (St Peters Western) fourth in 1:47.99.
And in what was a great night for Bond coach Richard Scarce, Olympic hopeful Jenna Strauch continued on with her good early season form winning the 200m breaststroke in a new personal best of 2:24.85 (1:09.23).
The women’s 200m freestyle saw world champion Ariarne Titmus (St Peters Western) start her State Championship in winning form, clocking 1:55.93 ahead of an inform Rio Olympian Leah Neale (Chandler) 1:57.33 with Lani Pallister (Cotton Tree) third in 1:58.33 and Carla Buchanan (Rackley) fourth in 1:58.39.
STRONG START: Mitch Larkin, Australia’s premier backstroker, has a strong start to the QLD Championships. Photo Courtesy: Steve Christo/Swimming Australia
While in the men’s 100m backstroke saw Australia’s “Mr Backstroke” Mitch Larkin produce a powerful performance to clock a sub 53 seconds time of 52.75 (25.50)
Olympic hopeful Zac Stubblety-Cook (Chandler) also caught the eye, especially with his powerful final lap, to defend his 200m breaststroke title in 2:07.96.
While two budding young butterflyers re-wrote the record books in Brisbane and Sydney.
The first emerging butterfly star Elizabeth Dekkers (Newmarket Racers) broke the Australian and Queensland 16 years age and All Comers records with her 2:08.46 at the Queensland Championships – 0.12 faster than Samantha Hamill’s Australian mark set in 2008.
And at the NSW Senior Age Championships in Sydney, Abbey Connor (Revesby Workers) broke one of the longest standing NSW records in the books when she eclipsed the 15 years 200m butterfly mark of 2:13.24, set by Olympic golden girl Michelle Ford (Carss Park) back in 1978.
Connor stopped the clock in an impressive time of 2:12.60 to write her own little slice of swimming history.
Ford, the Olympic champion over 800m freestyle in Moscow in 1980 went on to win the 200m butterfly at the 1978 and 1982 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton and Brisbane respectively, becoming one of Australia’s finest butterfly exponents.