Australia’s swimmer-of-the-moment Kaylee McKeown has continued her record-breaking run at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre – swimming her way into the World All-Time Top Ten for the 200m individual medley – clocking 2:07.19 to win the 2023 Sydney Open and UNISPORT Nationals tonight.
The swim comes just two months after setting her new world record in the 200m backstroke at the NSW State Championships at SOPAC and a month after her Australian All-Comers mark on the Gold Coast.
Tonight the 21-year-old set new NSW and lowered her own Australian All-Comers record – taking almost a full second off her own National time of 2:08.16 – set at the Australian Championships.
It was just 0.16 outside Olympic gold medallist Stephanie Rice’s Australian record of 2:07.03 – a “super suit” mark established back in 2009 at the Rome World Championships and faster than the 2012 London Olympic time set by fellow Australian Alicia Coutts.
The time also rockets her to the seventh fastest All-Time and maintains her place at No 2 in the world behind Canadian wunderkind Summer McIntosh (2:06.84).
McKeown was out in the butterfly in 27.88; before a 31.95 backstroke leg and 37.03 breaststroke before an impressive final freestyle lap of 30.33.
McKeown admitted she was “honestly just going in for race practice” wasn’t expecting that time.
“But I’ll take that…it was nice (to turn and see the time),” McKeown said.
“Whether or not we are training hard I just get up behind the blocks and (carry out) my race plan which was a bit different to usual.
“I tried to switch on through that middle 100m and then tried to come home as hard as I could in the freestyle leg.
“If I try too hard early, I just end up burning my legs and it will be interesting (when we analyse it) to see how that race plan worked out.”
In other eye-catching swims:
Tokyo Olympic 4x100m freestyle relay gold medallist Meg Harris (Marion, SA) unleashed a personal best time of 24.29 – taking 0.04 off her previous bet of 24.32 set at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games last year – a time under the Australian World Championship qualifying time of 24:57.
The 21-year-old, who is trained by Peter Bishop in Adelaide tipped out training partner Madi Wilson (24.62) – also under the QT and Bond Uni’s Milla Jansen (25.32).
Wilson started her opening night in fine fashion, winning the 50m backstroke from visiting Norwegian swimmer Ingelborg Vassbakk Loeyning (28.60) with Cassie Wild (Bond University, QLD) 28.82 clocking the third fastest time of the finals.
And for the second time in one day, triple Olympian Cameron McEvoy (Somerville House, QLD) cracked the 22 second barrier, stopping the clock at an equally impressive 21.84, after his 21.85 heat time – his final time just 0.01 outside the Australian World Championship qualifying time of 21.83.
Meanwhile New Zealand record holder Erika Fairweather (Neptune, NZ), coached by Lars Humer, led from start to finish to record another impressive time of 4:02.20 (58.44; 2:00.16; 3:02.00), her second fastest time of the season.
It followed Fairweather’s impressive National record of 4:00.62, the sixth fastest time in history, set last month in the NZ Nationals.
Fairweather has impressed key Australian coaches with her untapped ability and has also emerged as part of what has already been tipped as the “Race of the Century” at next year’s Paris Olympics.
The 2023 Australian silver medallist Lani Pallister (Griffith University SC, QLD) tried desperately to hang on to the Kiwi, touching second in 4:04.88, improving on her time when she finished second to Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus on the Gold Coast last month. Carlile coached Tokyo Olympian Madeleine Gough (Bond University, QLD) finished third overall and was crowned the National University champion in 4:09.53.
While Commonwealth Games and reigning National champion Elizabeth Dekkers (UQ, QLD) 2:08.33 (1:02.50) led all the way to win the Sydney Open/Australian University Championship double, ahead of Kayla Hardy (University of Canberra, ACT) 2:11.89 and Laura Taylor (Bond University, QLD) 2:12.00.
Tokyo 400IM bronze medallist Brendon Smith (Griffith University SC) 3:50.28 staged a powerful final 25m and out-touched 2016 Olympic champion and training partner Mack Horton 3:50.36 with Australian Age 100 and 200m freestyle champion Flynn Southam (Bond University, QLD) third home in 3:52.07. Southam was also crowned the Australian University champion.
Commonwealth Games representative Josh Edwards-Smith (Griffith University SC, QLD) 1:57.09 turned the tables on National champion Bradley Woodward (Western Sydney University, NSW) 1:57.42 who won the Australian University title, ahead of Chandler-coached Ty Hartwell (QUT, QLD) 1:58.92.
And Australian champion and Tokyo Olympian Matthew Temple (Marion, SA) 51.50 maintained his dominance in the 100m butterfly following his National title win in 51.49 on the Gold Coast last month with Australian Age star Ben Armbruster (Bond University, QLD) 52.74 second home and taking the University champion ahead of Cody Simpson (Griffith University, QLD) 52.92.
