NSW State Championships: Kaylee McKeown Continues her Decade Long Love Affair With Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre
Four-time Olympic champion Kaylee McKeown will continue her decade long love affair with the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre this weekend.
The 23-year-old Queenslander from Griffith University, will headline the fields for the three-day 2025 NSW State Championship meet – an association McKeown has had with the Sydney 2000 venue since 2017.
Then just 15, there were clear signs that the USC Spartan from the Queensland Sunshine Coast was destined for greatness – finishing second and third behind four-time Olympian Emily Seebohm over the 50 and 100 and 200m backstrokes.
Over the next eight years McKeown has chalked up no less than 25 victories in a complete domination of backstroke and IM events at both the NSW State and Sydney Open events – the major highlight coming in 2023 when she added her name to an impressive list of world record breakers who have set the SOPAC venue alight since its opening in 1994.
A world record time of 2:03.14 in the 200m backstroke that still stands unchallenged two years later.
Come Friday on the opening day of the meet and McKeown will begin her 2025 season in earnest in what will be a new era under a new coach, former British Olympic coach in Mel Marshall who has taken over the reins from celebrated Australian Olympic gold medal coach Michael Bohl.
McKeown will open her Sydney campaign with the 200m backstroke and 100m freestyle on Day one, followed by the 100m backstroke and 100m freestyle on Saturday and the 50m backstroke and 200IM on Sunday.
Marshall has assembled an exciting new look squad at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre with Olympic gold and silver medallist Zac Stubblety Cook, and Paris Olympic debut finalist Ella Ramsay joining McKeown and Paris 4x200m freestyle relay gold medallist Lani Pallister.
And while Stubblety Cook, Ramsay and Pallister will return to racing at next month’s Australian Open Championships, Marshall’s other new arrivals Haig Buckingham from NSW, and Queensland pair Mia O’Leary and Nash Wilkes will all line up in Sydney.
Buckingham returning to Sydney for the for the first time since his decision to make the move to join Marshall, lining up against former SOPAC club mate and 2020 Olympian, former 200m breaststroke world record holder Matthew Wilson and 2024 Olympian and world 50m champion Sam Williamson (Melbourne Vicentre, VIC).
Williamson, Wilson, Buckingham and Wilkes will all line up in the 100m breaststroke as Australia’s ailing breaststroke stocks play catch up to be ready for the LA Games in 2028.
McKeown will be among 10 Paris Olympians contesting the three-day meet, including NSW group, 4x100m freestyle gold medallist
Olivia Wunsch (Carlile, NSW), Bradley Woodward (Mingara, NSW), Se-Bom Lee(SPAC) and Will Yang (Sydney University, NSW) with former NSW born-and-bred 2024 Olympic finalist in the 200m butterfly, Abbey Connor (USC Spartans, QLD) also aiming to keep her career on the rise.
They will be joined by Paris teammates Zac Incerti, Perkins (USC Spartans, QLD), Matt Temple (Marion, SA) and Williamson (Melbourne Vicentre, VIC).
Perkins and Wunsch will be joined by accomplished Swedish international Louise Hansson in the 50m butterfly and in the 100m freestyle with McKeown for an opening day double.
The meet will also see 18 members of Australia’s successful 2024 Paralympic team in action, including local Blacktown golden boy, Tim Hodge, who will be joined by fellow Paralympic gold medallists Alexa Leary (Bond, QLD) and Benjamin Hance (St Andrews, QLD).
Hodge, the Paralympic champion and world record holder over 200m individual medley will tackle the 400m freestyle, 200m IM and the 100m backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly events in his well-documented busy program.
He has emerged over the past five years as the little Aussie battler, an inspiration in NSW and Australian sport, who started his year at the Para Swimming World Series in Melbourne in January with nine medals – including two individual gold in the 50m backstroke and 100m butterfly.
“I was pleasantly surprised across the board with all my races (at the Para World Series)”, Hodge told NSWIS.
“Coming off the back of Paris [2024 Paralympic Games] and having a decent break, I ensured that I was getting into training wherever I could, and I’ve had a lot of support along the way.
“The major focus is hitting your processes, hitting your key points, seeing how the times change, and being able to react to racing situations.”
Despite being the venue of the celebrated 2000 Olympic Games, is there a reason why the Sydney pool is now being largely ignored in terms of hosting any major Australian championships which seem to gravitate between Queensland and Adelaide lately ? I am very confused why the Sydney venue is being turned into a white elephant by Swimming Australia