NSW State Championships, Night One Finals: Kaylee McKeown Goes 2:04.21 to Push Go Button For Paris

PUSH TO PARIS: Kaylee McKeown launches her Paris initiative. Photo Courtesy Con Chronis (Swimming Victoria).

NSW State Championships, Night One Finals: Kaylee McKeown Goes 2:04.21 to Push Go Button For Paris

The world’s premier female backstroker Kaylee McKeown has thrown down her fourth fastest time ever in winning the 200m backstroke final in 2:04.21 to officially signal the push to Paris and the showdown with her US archrival Regan Smith at this year’s Olympic Games.

The 22-year-old Olympic and two-time World Champion and world record holder from Griffith University on the Gold Coast, always finds something extra, despite the heavy training load of a week-long training camp in Cairns under master coach Michael Bohl.

SUPERBOHL COACH: Coach Michael Bohl with star backstroker Kaylee McKeown. Photo Courtesy Wade Brennan Photography.

And that’s just what she did in the most impressive and emphatic four laps of backstroke perfection on the opening night’s action at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre.

It comes just a week after Smith’s 2:03.99 to take the TYR Pro Series in Westmont – also the fourth fastest time of her career.

Here are the comparative splits of these two latest swims from the world’s two best backstrokers – with just 0.22 between them.

Kaylee McKeown: 29.24, 31.93 (1:01.17); 31.75 and home in 31.29 (1:03.04) – 2:04.21

Regan Smith: 28.93, 31.45 (1:00.38); 31.91 and home in 32.47 (1:03.61) – 2:03.99

McKeown and Smith share 10 of the fastest 11 times in history – five each – with the only other swimmer inside the top 10, the remarkable 2012 Olympic champion Missy Franklin.

And when push comes to shove there is likely more from where that came from with McKeown also entered in the 50 and 100m backstroke in Sydney, along with the 100m butterfly and the 200 freestyle and 200IM but may not swim them all according to coach Bohl.

Take a look at the Top 11 Fastest Times for 200m Backstroke In History

Kaylee McKeown (2:03.14 WR)
Regan Smith (2:03.35)
Regan Smith (2:03.69)
Kaylee McKeown (2:03.70)
Regan Smith (2:03.80)
Kaylee McKeown (2:03.85)
Regan Smith (2:03.99)
Missy Franklin (2:04.06)
Kaylee McKeown (2:04.21)
Regan Smith (2:04.27)
Kaylee McKeown (2:04.28)

And the new kid on the breaststroke blocks, teenage whiz kid Sienna Toohey from Albury in country NSW has swum the fastest 100m breaststroke time for a 15-year-0ld since Australia’s greatest female breaststroker Leisel Jones in 2000.

Jones was the find of the 2000 Olympics, with her silver medal in the women’s 100m breaststroke in 1:07.49 – with the Wayne Gould-coached Toohey breaking 1:08 for the first time with her time of 1:07.97 to finish second behind Tokyo Olympian Jenna Strauch (Miami, QLD) 1:07.83,m. with Matilda Smith, also Miami third in 1:08.45.

It was Toohey’s NSW State Open debut after dominating the NSW Country Championships, twice lowering her personal best after clocking 1:08.36 in the heat -quicker again than her 1:08.39 last month at the NSW Country’s when she was still 14.

Toohey has jumped from the seventh fastest time this season to the fifth fastest Australian in 2023-24 behind, Kaylee McKeown (1:07.01), Strauch (1:07.30) and both Matilda Smith and Ella Ramsay (1:07.64).

The brave youngster wasted no time racing down the first 50m in 31.74 -just outside her 50m pb of 31.54!

NSW States Day One

2024 NSW State Swimming Championships, Day 1, FINALS:

Results

WOMEN

100m freestyle

Mollie O’Callaghan (St Peters Western, QLD) 52.82
Bronte Campbell (Cruiz, ACT) 53.50
Emma McKeon (Griffith University, QLD) 53.70

200m freestyle Multi-Class

Madeleine McTernan S14 (Shark Aquatics, QLD) 2:14.32
Ruby Storm S14 (St Andrews, QLD) 2:15.69
Chloe Osborn S7 (ACU Blacktown, NSW)2:37.21

800m freestyle

Ariarne Titmus (St Peters Western, QLD) 8:17.87
Lani Pallister (Griffith University, QLD) 8:19.23
Amelia Weber (St Peters Western, QLD) 8:45.16

200m backstroke

Kaylee McKeown (Griffith University, QLD) 2:04.21
Bella Grant (Trinity Grammar, NSW) 2:11.73
Minna Atherton (Bond, QLD) 2:11.91

50m butterfly

Alexandria Perkins (USC Spartans, QLD) 25.97
Emma McKeon (Griffith University, QLD) 25.99
Madeline Groves (Commercial, QLD) 26.13

100m butterfly Multi-Class

Taylor Corry S14 (Kincumber Pacific Dolphins, NSW) 1:09.55
Jasmine Greenwood S10 (Cruiz, ACT) 1:09.09
Ruby Storm S14 (St Andrews, QLD) 1:10.60

100m breaststroke

Jenna Strauch (Miami, QLD) 1:07.83
Sienna Toohey (Albury Amateur, NSW) 1:09.97
Matilda Smith (Miami, QLD) 1:08.45

400m individual medley

Isabella Krantzcke (SOPAC Swim Team) 4:56.28
Talika Irvine (West Illawarra Aquatic, NSW) 5:0143
Indianna Cameron (St Peters Western, QLD) 5:02.52

MEN

100m freestyle

Will Yang (SOPAC Swim Team) 48.48
Kyle Chalmers (Marion, SA) 48.53
Josha Salchow (Marion, SA) 48.79

200m freestyle Multi-Class

Darren Sisman S14 (Engadine, NSW) 1:58.69
Declan Budd S14 (Knox Pymble, NSW) 1:58.92
Alexander Tuckfield S10(Southern Sydney Swim Team, NSW) 1:59.16

400m freestyle

Ben Goedemans (St Peters Western, QLD) 3:50.94
Matthew Galea (SOPAC Swim Team, NSW) 3:51.15
James Koch (Miami, QLD) 3:51.59

50m backstroke

Ben Armbruster (Bond, QLD) 25.40
Lewis Blackburn (St Andrews, QLD) 25.57
Fergus McLachlan (Bond, QLD) 26.06

50m breaststroke

Joshua Collett (Bond, QLD) 27.86
Grayson Bell (Somerset, QLD) 28.06
Haig Buckingham (SOPAC Swim Club) 28.08

100m butterfly Multi-Class

Alex Saffy S10 (Bunbury, WA) 59.13
Declan Budd S14 (Knox Pymble, NSW) 59.26
Col Pearse (Nunawading, VIC) 59.52

200m butterfly

Bowen Gough (Griffith University, QLD) 1:57.46
William Petric (Nunawading, VIC) 1:58.45
Joshua Moore (USC Spartans, QLD) 2:03.30

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use