Kaylee McKeown's time wasn't far off her world record of 57.45, which she set at the NSW Championships last month.
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On night two of the Australian Swimming Championships on the Gold Coast, several smooth swims were highlighted by world record holder Kaylee McKeown, who admitted she was hurting in the final stages before producing another world-class 100m backstroke time of 57.90. McKeown reported that she “really felt the burn” over the 25 meters while she was out and when she was home in 29.73. The world’s top backstroker wasn’t always treated fairly as she prepared for the World Championship Trials in Melbourne in June after a demanding training camp in Noumea.
Kaylee’s best friend Mollie O’Callaghan (St Peters Western, QLD) came in second with a time of 58.42 points, and Jaclyn Barclay (St Peters Western, QLD), a star in her age group, took third in 1:00.31 points. Kaylee McKeown’s time wasn’t far off her world record of 57.45, which she set at the NSW Championships last month. It was also only slightly slower than her season best and the top time in the world this year, her 57.84. After McKeown and four-time Olympian Emily Seebohm, O’Callaghan moves up to third place in the Australian 100m backstroke rankings after night one’s dramatic 100m freestyle victory over Shayna Jack.
A few swimmers made outstanding debuts, including Jenna Forrester (St Peters Western, QLD) in the 400-meter individual medley, Kai Taylor (St Peters Western, QLD) in the men’s 200-meter freestyle, and Lizzy Dekkers (Chandler, QLD) in the 200-meter butterfly. The 2008 Olympic champions Stephanie Rice (4:29.45) and McKeown (4:31.74) are the only other Australians to have swum faster than Forrester’s 4:35.05 personal best. Forrester, a 19-year-old finalist at the Commonwealth Games, has the third-fastest swim of her career.
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In a real duel to win the battle in the 200m freestyle, it was 17-year-old Taylor, the youngest competitor, who displayed maturity and toughness beyond his years. A second teenager, Flynn Southam, 19, who won three gold medals in the relay at the Commonwealth Games the previous year, took the lead with 25 meters to go after Taylor had led for the first 150 meters. But Taylor, the son of legendary Australian swimmer Hayley Lewis, who was also a former world record holder in the 200-meter freestyle, and who was proudly seated in the grandstand, dug deep and proved he wasn’t finished by outlasting Southam by two-hundredths of a second, 1:46.65 to 1:46.67, as he crossed the finish line under the flags.
Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers (Marion, SA) saved himself to lead the Marion team to victory in the 4×100 medley relay, splitting 48.09 in the freestyle anchor, while Olympic 4x200m relay bronze medalist Elijah Winnington (St Peters Western, QLD) finished third in 1:47.24 in a final that started without qualifiers. 400m winner Sam Short (Rackley Swim Team, QLD) concentrated on the 1500m later in the night which he won. A gold medalist from the Commonwealth Games Dekkers demonstrated that she is truly on the rise with a stunning personal best of 2:06:55, which places her as the seventh-fastest Australian in the 200-meter butterfly.
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