Sunshine Coast swimmer Kaylee McKeown broke her own Commonwealth and Australian record in the 200m backstroke on Friday, in a promising lead-up to the Olympic trials.
The 19-year-old USC Spartans athlete was highly impressive at the Sydney Open, clocking 2min04.31sec, to beat her previous mark by 0.18sec, set in Brisbane in October.
It was also the fastest time in the world for the past 18 months, and it sets her up for a potential timing showdown with US world record holder Regan Smith (2:03.35), as they prepare for their respective national trials.
The 19-year-old USC Spartans athlete was impressive at the Sydney Open. Picture: Delly Carr (SOPAC).
McKeown said she deliberately went hard during her heat on Thursday night, before attacking the final on Friday morning.
“So I’m pretty impressed that we were able back up some pretty good swims,” she said in a press release for Swimming New South Wales.
“I just trusted myself a bit more in the first 100m (of the final) to get out a little faster, which did hurt a lot in the back-end but I did a really good solid time, so I’m happy with that.”
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”It’s always our plan to put as much pressure on as we can at these meets to get the most race practice we can.”
“It’s nothing compared to trials and I’m expecting a lot more nerves there.”
The Australian selection trials will be held at Adelaide in June, where McKeown’s main threats should be Griffith University duo Emily Seebohm and Jess Unicomb, who filled the placings in Sydney (2:07.06 and 2:13.53), along with short course 100m backstroke world record holder Minna Atherton.
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Despite her young age, McKeown has become a familiar sight in green and gold.
She made debut for the Dolphins aged 15 and just missed out on a medal at the world championships in Hungary, while setting a junior world record.
The following year she finished fourth in the 100m and 200m backstroke finals at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.
It was at the 2019 world championships in South Korea, where she broke through for medals, capturing silver in the 200m backstroke and the 4x100m medley relay.
In April, she won Australian titles at Sydney, including the 50m and 100m backstroke, and the 200m individual medley.
“Her default is racing. She just loves to race,” Spartans coach Nathan Doyle said recently.
“She trains hard but when there is an opportunity to race, she certainly thrives in that type of environment.”
