McKeown Swims Second Fastest 200m Backstroke in History at Olympic Trials
Olympic champion Kaylee McKeown missed the world record in the 200m backstroke but swam the second fastest time in history during the Australian Olympic Trials on Thursday, bolstering her title defense for Paris.
The 22-year-old standout clocked a time of 2 minutes 3.30 seconds at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre, falling just 0.16 seconds short of her personal best (2:03.14) set at last year’s state championships, just two nights after narrowly missing the 100m world record.
Set to defend her 100m backstroke title in Paris as well, McKeown expressed disappointment over the missed world record in the 100m but had no regrets about her performance in the 200m.
“I was pretty nervous. I really wanted to enjoy tonight, so I’m glad you could see that on camera,” she said poolside.
In the 200m event, McKeown faced no real threat, but 17-year-old Jaclyn Barclay, making her first Olympic appearance, lived up to some of her promise by securing second place.
Emily Seebohm, 32, who gave birth eight months ago, finished fifth in the final, missing her chance to compete in her fifth Games after winning bronze in Tokyo three years ago.
Former Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers won the 100m freestyle final in 47.75 seconds; this was well off his best time of 47.08, but it was enough to secure his third consecutive medal in the event at the Paris Games.
Chalmers, who won gold in the 2016 Rio Games and silver behind Caeleb Dressel in Tokyo, had topped the world podium in Fukuoka last year but will need to up his game to beat rivals Pan Zhanle and David Popivici in Paris.
William Yang, finishing second behind Chalmers, claimed the other 100m spot with a personal best of 48.08.
Titmus Wins Again
Ariarne Titmus, having set a world record in the 200m freestyle the night before, returned to the pool, shutting down her social media to focus on the 800m freestyle, where she won a silver medal behind Katie Ledecky in Tokyo.
Titmus clinched the final with a time of 8:14.06, narrowly beating Lani Pallister again in the 400m repeat.
Her time was within half a second of her personal best (8:13.59), but the dual Olympic champion in the 200m and 400m was not particularly impressed with her swim and guessed that her coach Dean Boxall might feel the same.
“He actually said to me, ‘Don’t be a little kitten.’ And I think in that race, if you understand what I’m saying, I was a little kitten,” she remarked.
This came after world silver medalist Liz Dekkers qualified for the 200m butterfly and her first Games, three years after freezing on the starting block during Australia’s Tokyo trials.
Dekkers won the Brisbane final in 2:06.01, nearly a second ahead of second-place finisher Abbey Connor.
Reflecting on missing Tokyo, the 20-year-old Dekkers said, “It was really tough at first. But I guess it gave me the strength I needed to become a better swimmer. I definitely wouldn’t be here if that hadn’t happened three years ago.”