Kaylee McKeown’s Shock Australian Title Win In The 200m Breaststroke; Stops The Clock In An Eye-Catching 2.24.18

australian-championships-Kaylee McKeown action 2 Delly Carr

DIFFERENT STROKES: Backstroking's world beater Kaylee McKeown throws down a 2:24.18 in the 200m breaststroke. Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr (Swimming Australia).

Kaylee McKeown’s Shock Australian Title In The 200m Breaststroke, Stopping The Clock In 2.24.18

The world’s number one female backstroker Kaylee McKeown has tonight won her maiden 200m breaststroke title on night three of the Australian Swimming Championships on Queensland’s Gold Coast – stopping the clock in the ninth fastest time in the world this year.

The 21-year-old backstroking demon from the Griffith University also clocked the eighth fastest time by an Australian of 2:24.18 – beating fellow Olympian Abbey Harkin (St Peters Western, QLD) 2:25.72 and last year’s World Championship silver medallist Jenna Strauch (Miami, QLD) third in 2:25.94.

Meagan Nay, the two-time Australian Olympic backstroker, commentating for Australian television was quick to heap praise on the triple Olympic and world champion backstroker, saying: What a talent..what a super talent….is there nothing this girl can’t do ?”

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Kaylee McKeown has already taken the 200IM at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre in a personal best time of 2:08.16 (the third fastest time by an Australian) and defending her 100m backstroke title last night in the second fastest time in the world this year with a sizzling 57.90.

The girl who has re-written the backstroking record books over the past three years and dabbling in the IM events, came in to the meet on a 2:29.76 – clocking 2:30.63 in the preliminaries this morning – but blowing the field away swimming from lane six in the final that she made her own from the third 50m lap after Harkin led the field through the first 100m.

Kaylee McKeown splitting 1:10.22 before putting together two sublime backend 50s of 37.06 and a final lap of 36.90 – much to everyone’s surprise.

Event 36  Women 13 & Over 200 LC Metre Breaststroke
==================================================================
        World: W 2:18.95  30/07/2021Tatjana Schoenmaker, RSA
 Commonwealth: C 2:18.95  30/07/2021Tatjana Schoenmaker, RSA
   Australian: R 2:20.54  1/02/2006 Leisel Jones, Commercial
   All Comers: A 2:20.04  6/02/2016 Rie Kaneto, JPN
 TITLEHOLDERS:   2:23.26  20/05/2022Jenna Strauch, MIAMI
      FINA QT:   2:23.91
 Meet Qualifying:  2:40.64
    Name                  Age Team              Prelims     Finals        
==================================================================
                         === A Final ===                          
 
  1 MCKEOWN, KAYLEE        21 GUSC              2:30.63    2:24.18  
    r:+0.66  33.64      1:10.22 (36.58)
        1:47.28 (37.06)     2:24.18 (36.90)
  2 HARKIN, ABBEY          24 STPET             2:30.32    2:25.72  
    r:+0.67  33.17      1:09.89 (36.72)
        1:47.34 (37.45)     2:25.72 (38.38)
  3 STRAUCH, JENNA         26 MIAMI             2:28.95    2:25.94  
    r:+0.72  33.30      1:10.45 (37.15)
        1:47.63 (37.18)     2:25.94 (38.31)
  4 OBEREKAR, ASHLEIGH     22 VAQC              2:28.80    2:26.98  
    r:+0.69  33.90      1:11.35 (37.45)
        1:49.43 (38.08)     2:26.98 (37.55)
  5 SMITH, MATILDA         18 MIAMI             2:29.32    2:27.26  
    r:+0.76  33.50      1:10.93 (37.43)
        1:49.11 (38.18)     2:27.26 (38.15)
  6 SMITH, MIKAYLA         24 GUSC              2:31.75    2:28.31  
    r:+0.63  33.59      1:11.55 (37.96)
        1:49.85 (38.30)     2:28.31 (38.46)
  7 DEACON, ZOE            22 NUN               2:30.09    2:30.31  
    r:+0.66  33.70      1:11.19 (37.49)
        1:50.26 (39.07)     2:30.31 (40.05)
  8 SMITH, REIDEL          20 NUN               2:32.30    2:31.20  
    r:+0.70  34.13      1:12.06 (37.93)
        1:51.46 (39.40)     2:31.20 (39.74)

Kaylee McKeown is now chasing her recently retired big sister Taylor McKeown – the 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medallist in the 200m breaststroke, who was fourth in the Rio Olympics and posted a personal best of 2:21.45 at the 2016 Olympic Trials.

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