Australian Short Course Champs: Unstoppable Kaylee McKeown Sets Adelaide Pool Alight With New 100m Backstroke World Record of 54.56secs

Australian swimming’s “Miss Unstoppable” Kaylee McKeown has tonight continued her world record backstroking assault, setting a new short course global mark in the 100m backstroke in Adelaide, clocking a time of 54.56.

McKeown, fresh from her history-making second Olympics in Paris, and only just returning to the training pool, took 0.33 off fellow Australian Minna Atherton’s 2019 world mark of 54.89.

The 23-year-old was pushed all the way by her fellow Paris teammate Iona Anderson (Breakers, WA) to christen the opening night of the four-day Australian Short Course Sprints at the SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre in typical McKeown fashion – swimming faster than anyone else has ever swum.

But there was no catching the world’s greatest ever female backstroker who looked as smooth as ever with her 54.56 (12.82; 26.69; 40.59) seemingly effortless – as she now prepares to defend her 100 and 200m backstroke crowns at the 2024 World Short Course Championships in Budapest in December.

Kaylee admitting it was tough to comedown off the enormous high of her golden Olympics.

“I had some solid down time after the Olympics and only decided to do the Short Course at the last minute but it’s been fun and very humbling to go to training and not make it through some sessions,” said McKeown.

“It’s been great…(the Olympics) has been a huge whirlwind…and something I never thought I would be able to achieve.

“But it has definitely been hard off the back if it….people don’t realise just how much of a high it is and then to come back down again…it has been a struggle and I have been pretty open with that but like I said I’m here swimming so it’s making me a bit happy.”

The four-time Olympic backstroking gold medallist from Tokyo and Paris – now holds four of the six world records in Long Course (50 and 200 backstroke) and Short Course (100 and 200m).

In earlier record-breaking action, Queensland’s emerging teenager Edward Sommerville (Brisbane Grammar, QLD; Coach – Bobby Jovanovich) took just 1:40.64 (23.55; 49.04; 1:14.89) to announce his arrival onto the world stage. The 19-year-old, one of the young guns of Australian swimming upset Paris Olympian in a new Australian record time of 1:40.80 set by Cameron McEvoy in 2015 – and just 0.94 outside the world record of 1:39.70) held since 2012 by Frenchman Yannick Agnel.

While 23-year-old Paris Olympian and one if the real finds of Australian swimming over the past two years Josh Yong (UWA West Coast, WA; Coach: Ben Higson) set the second Australian record of night one, clocking 56.76 (26.86).Yong took 0.13 off the 2020 National mark set by Olympian Matthew Wilson to continue his climb up the international ladder – swimming into the top 25 all time in the world. He powered home past early leader 20-year-old Joshua Collett (Bond, QLD) 57.29 and Nash Wilkes (Southport, QLD) 57.68 – both Yong and Collett under the Budapest QT.

Women’s 200m freestyle:

ARMS LENGTH: Lani Pallister books her spot on the team for Budapest winning the 200m freestyle in 1:52.73.. (Swimming Australia Image/David Mariuz)

Paris Olympian, 4x200m freestyle golden girl Lani Pallister (Griffith University, QLD) won in a personal best time of 1:52.73 -the fifth fastest time by an Australian of 1:55.60. Dual Olympian (Rio and Tokyo) Lah Neal (Rackley, QLD) finishes second in 1:53.60, Abbey Webb (Cruiz, ACT) third in 1:54.72 and Brittany Castelluzzo (Tea Tree Gully, SA) fourth in 1:54.82 – all girls under the QT (1:55.60) for the World SC Championships in Budapest in December.

Men’s 200m freestyle:

Queensland teenager Edward Sommerville (Brisbane Grammar, QLD; Coach – Bobby Jovanovich) took just 1:40.64 (23.55; 49.04; 1:14.89) to announce his arrival onto the world stage. The 19-year-old, one of the young guns of Australian swimming upset Paris Olympian in a new Australian record time of 1:40.80 set by Cameron McEvoy in 2015 – and just 0.94 outside the world record of 1:39.70) held since 2012 by Frenchman Yannick Agnel. Sommerville led all the way to keep Paris Olympian and Australia’s fastest LC 200m freestyler Max Giuliani (Miami, QLD) at bay. Giuliani second in a pb of 1:41.39, making him the fourth fastest Australian behind Sommerville, McEvoy, Kyle Chalmers (1:40.98) and Ian Thorpe (1:41.10). 17-year-old Marcus Da Silva (Cranbrook, NSW) finished third in a pb of 1:43.22 – all three under the World SC Championships QT.

WORLD ALL-TIME TOP TEN

Women’s 100m breaststroke

The next generation of Australian breaststrokers led by 21-year-old Tara Kinder (Melbourne Vicentre, VIC), 1:05.23, 20-year-old Sienna Harben (Bond, QLD) 1:05.28 and 15-year-old Lily Koch (Nunawading, VIC) 1:05.43 have breathed some life back into Australian women’s breaststroke swimming – both Kinder and Harben achieving the QT of 1:05.28 with Koch setting her second Australian Age record of the day after her impressive heat swim this morning.

Men’s 100m breaststroke

Twenty-three-year-old Paris Olympian and one if the real finds of Australian swimming over the past two years Josh Yong (UWA West Coast, WA; Coach: Ben Higson) set the second Australian record of night one, clocking 56.76 (26.86).Yong took 0.13 off the 2020 National mark set by Olympian Matthew Wilson to continue his climb up the international ladder – swimming into the top 25 all time in the world. He powered home past early leader 20-year-old Joshua Collett (Bond, QLD) 57.29 and Nash Wilkes (Southport, QLD) 57.68 – both Yong and Collett under the Budapest QT.

In other events….Dual Olympian Isaac Cooper (St Andrews, QLD) pulled out a World Championship qualifier, winning the men’s 100m backstroke in 50.17 (outside his pb of 49.52) with Kalani Ireland (Somerville House, QLD) producing his personal best in a time of 51.35 – just shy of the 51.01  QT, with Enoch Robb (All Saints, QLD) a touch behind in third in 51.38

The women’s 50m butterfly saw Paris Olympian Alexandria Perkins (USC Spartans, QLD) clock a pb of 24.99 – the first time under 25 seconds and the fourth fastest time by an Australian ahead of Lily Price (Rackley, QLD) 25.38 and Olympic backstroke finalist Iona Anderson (Breakers, WA) third in 26.12.

With Jesse Coleman (Bond, QLD) winning the men’s 50m butterfly in a pb of 22.63 (6^th fastest Australian) from dual Olympian Matt Temple (Marion, SA) 22.78 and Alex Quach (SOPAC

MORE TO COME…..