2025 World Championship Previews: Kaylee McKeown Shooting for 3rd World Title in 200 Back

2025 World Championships

• July 27 – August 3, 2025 (pool swimming)
• Singapore, Singapore
• World Aquatics Championship Arena
• LCM (50 meters)
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 By the Numbers: Women’s 200 Backstroke

• World Record: 2:03.14 – Kaylee McKeown (AUS), 2023
• World Junior Record: 2:03.35 – Regan Smith (USA), 2019
• Championship Record: 2:03.35 – Regan Smith (USA), 2019
• 2023 World Champion: Kaylee McKeown (AUS) – 2:03.85
• 2024 Olympic Champion: Kaylee McKeown (AUS) – 2:03.76

Australian star Kaylee McKeown comes into the 2025 World Aquatics Championships as the two-time defending champion in the women’s 200 back and looks to be the front runner to win gold once again in Singapore.

McKeown will face a tough field of competitors in her quest to bring home the title, with American stars Regan Smith and Claire Curzan leading the pack of swimmers chasing her down.

Notably absent from the 200 back at this year’s championship is Canada’s Kylie Masse, who won bronze in this event in Paris and placed 5th at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka. Masse is entered in the 50 and 100 back for Singapore but not the 200; she has not raced this event since the Olympics last summer.

Triple Threat

McKeown has been on top of the world for the last few years and does not look to be slowing down anytime soon. She has won the event at nearly every major international competition since 2021, including two Olympic Games and two World Championships.

Kaylee McKeown (photo: Stephen Thomas)

McKeown has been under 2:04 on six separate occasions, more than anyone else in history. She crossed into the 2:03 range for the first time back in 2023, when she broke the world record in an impressive time of 2:03.14 at the NSW State Championships. Later that season, McKeown won the 200 back in Fukuoka with a time of 2:03.85, a full second ahead of runner-up Smith.

At the Paris Games, McKeown set a new Olympic record with her winning time of 2:03.73, as she was once again the only competitor in the field to crack the 2:04 barrier. McKeown has only raced the 200 back twice so far this season, and posted a season-best 2:04.47 at the Australian Swimming Trials to book her ticket to Singapore. She’s the clear frontrunner as she boasts the fastest time in the world this season and is the only swimmer to have gone under 2:05 so far.

The American Dream (Duo)

TeamUSA has two swimmers who will undoubtedly be top contenders for a medal in Singapore: Regan Smith and Claire Curzan.

As the former world record-holder, Smith is no stranger to throwing down fast times in this event. She set the previous world record time of 2:03.35 at the World Championships back in 2019, when she was just 17 years old. Since that meet, Smith has only been under 2:04 twice: at the 2023 U.S. National Championships (2:03.80) and at the 2024 Pro Swim Series in Westmont (2:03.99).

Smith was the runner-up behind McKeown at both the 2023 World Championships (2:04.94) and the 2024 Olympic Games (2:04.26). She kicked off this season with a 2:08.33 at the Pro Swim Series in Westmont back in March before following it up with a 2:06.32 in Fort Lauderdale, winning the event at both stops of the tour. In somewhat of a surprise result, Smith took 2nd behind Curzan in 2:05.84 at the U.S. Nationals in June, which was the first time she has missed the top spot at a U.S. qualifying meet since 2022.

Claire Curzan (photo: Jack Spitser)

After finishing 3rd in 2:08.20 at the Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale, Curzan enjoyed a tremendous performance as she threw down a lifetime best time of 2:05.09 at Nationals. She dropped .68 from her previous best (2:05.77) and blasted into the wall well ahead of Smith to secure the top qualifying spot heading into Singapore. Curzan is now the 7th-fastest performer of all-time in the 200 back and is currently ranked 2nd in the world for top times this season.

Curzan’s qualification in the 200 back marks a significant milestone for her, as this is the first time she’s made it to a major international summer championship in this event. She narrowly missed out on qualifying for the 2023 World Championships and the Paris Olympics, placing 3rd at the team trials for both. Curzan swept the backstroke events at the 2024 World Championships in Doha, winning the 200 in 2:05.77, but both Smith and McKeown were notably absent from that meet, as well as other backstroke powerhouses such as Masse and Phoebe Bacon.

With Smith and Curzan being the only two swimmers in the world (besides McKeown) to go under 2:07 so far this season, they lead the pack heading into Worlds by nearly two full seconds. Barring a surprise smoke from one of the other entrants, the pair are almost guaranteed to grab two spots on the podium, it is just a matter of which order they hit the wall.

Double Trouble

A few of the top seeds for Worlds made appearances in the finals or semifinals at both the 2023 World Championships and the Paris Games and look to be considerable threats once again.

Great Britain’s Katie Shanahan made a splash during her LCM World Championship debut in Fukuoka, placing 4th in the 200 back in a lifetime best time of 2:07.45. A year later, she took 5th at the Olympics in 2:07.53, showing off her consistency in the event.

Katie Shanahan (photo: LEN European Aquatics)

Shanahan posted a season-best time of 2:07.91 at the Aquatics GB Championships back in April, claiming her nation’s top qualifying spot heading to Singapore. Her performance marked the 13th-fastest time in the world this season, but with several of those higher-ranked individuals not on the roster for the 200 back, she is the #4 seed heading into the meet. Shanahan tends to be pretty consistent with her times at championship meets, hitting mid-2:07s for the past few years, and she looks to be in strong form to match those performances in Singapore. Even if she doesn’t make it onto the podium, she should certainly land in the final and be right in the thick of the competition.

Another familiar name from the 2023 World Championships and the 2024 Olympic Games, Eszter Szabo-Feltothy of Hungary will be looking to break into the final for the first time. Szabo-Feltothy just missed out on the final in 2023, placing 9th in 2:09.90, and placed 10th in Paris with a 2:09.41. While she did place 3rd at the World Championships in Doha (2:09.76), several of the world’s top competitors like McKeown and Smith were absent from that meet.

With a lifetime best of 2:08.95 from April 2024, Szabo-Feltothy is the #14 seed heading into Worlds, but she has not been close to that time yet this season. The fastest she’s been so far was 2:11.10 back in November, before she dropped off to a 2:13.89 at the Hungarian Championships in April. Szabo-Feltothy most recently swam a 2:11.94 at the Barcelona stop on the Mare Nostrum tour, so she could continue to improve in Singapore, but she may be harder pressed to make it to the final especially given the stacked field she is facing.

China’s Peng Xuwei won bronze in Fukuoka, throwing down a best time of 2:06.74 to beat out Shanahan and land herself on the podium. She went on to finish 6th at the Olympics last summer in 2:07.96, this time just behind Shanahan.

This season, Peng lowered her best time in March, winning the 200 back in 2:06.54 at the Chinese National Spring Championships and breaking the 2:07 barrier for the second time. She also won the 200 back at the Chinese National Championships in 2:07.63, almost 1.5 seconds ahead of runner-up Liu Yaxin. That performance in March puts her at #5 in the world heading into the World Championships, not to mention she is one of only five swimmers entered with a time under 2:08. With a lifetime best that ranks 21st on the all-time top performers list, Peng should land safely in the final.

Olympic Returners

While this meet will mark Carmen Weiler Sastre’s first time racing the 200 back at the World Championships, she is no stranger to racing on the global stage, having represented Spain at the Paris Olympics. She made it to the semifinals last summer, finishing 13th in 2:09.99, but will certainly be a top contender for the finals in Singapore.

Weiler kicked off this season by turning in a 2:12.24 at the Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale, quite a bit behind Worlds competitors Smith and Curzan who were both well under 2:10, before going on to make a massive improvement just last month. She threw down a lifetime best 2:08.56 at the Spanish Summer Open Championships, which is the #19 time in the world this season. If Weiler can replicate that performance in Singapore, then she should have a strong shot at making it to the final.

Anastasia Gorbenko (photo: Jack Spitser)

Israel’s Anastasia Gorbenko made huge strides in her 200 back race last summer, posting a significant personal best time of 2:08.54 at the Trofeu Internacional Ciutat de Barcelona in May. That performance knocked 2.3 off of her previous best (2:10.84) from 2022 and ranked her 19th in the world that season. She went on to place 16th in 2:11.96 at the Olympics two months later, which was the last time she raced the 200 back. Gorbenko’s best time would rank 18th in the world this season, just .02 ahead of Weiler, and she is the #11 seed heading into the meet, giving her a strong shot at making it to the final.

French star Pauline Mahieu should be another top contender for the final. She placed 11th at the Paris Olympics last summer (2:09.56), less than .3 off of the best time (2:09.28) she set at the 2024 French Elite Championships. Mahieu just lowered her lifetime best even further, throwing down a time of 2:08.28 at the French Elite Championships last month and posting the 17th-fastest performance this season. That time would have qualified for the final at both the 2023 Worlds and the 2024 Olympics, putting her in a strong position heading into Singapore.

Another Paris Olympian on the roster for Singapore is neutral athlete Anastasiya Shkurdai, who placed 8th in 2:10.23 at the Games. Shkurdai’s season-best last summer was a 2:08.79, which she posted during the semifinals in Paris, and she matched that time almost exactly with a 2:08.76 at the Russian Cup back in February. While that race ranks her 21st in the world this season, Shkurdai’s performances since then have all progressively dropped off; she most recently posted a 2:11.85 in May. With a lifetime best time of 2:06.95 from April 2023, Shkurdai could make a push for the podium if she can return to top form, but based on her recent swims she may be hard pressed to make it to the final.

Portugal’s Camila Rebelo is the #15 seed heading into Singapore with a lifetime best time of 2:08.95 from June 2024. She placed 15th at Worlds in Fukuoka with a 2:11.80 after swimming a personal best 2:09.84 at the Spanish Open earlier that season. Last summer, she again turned in a lifetime best (2:08.95) mid-season before finishing 19th at the Olympics in 2:11.26. Rebelo’s just threw down a season-best time of 2:08.96 at the World University Games, almost tying her best time and ranking her #22 in the world. While Rebelo’s best time could put her in contention for a spot in the final, she tends to be faster at lower stakes competitions, which could make it harder for her to break into the final.

China’s Liu Yaxin gets an honorary inclusion in this category despite not having raced in Paris, as she was a finalist at the Tokyo Olympics, taking 8th in 2:08.48. In 2023, Liu posted a lifetime best time of 2:07.35 at the Chinese Spring Championship only to finish 21st (2:13.42) at the World Championships in Fukuoka three months later. This season’s Chinese National Spring Championships in March saw Liu post a tremendous performance, throwing down a lifetime best time of 2:06.71 to snag the runner-up spot and launch herself up to 6th in the world this season. She most recently turned in a 2:09.09 in May, but if Liu can get back to the 2:07 or 2:08 range, she should be able to secure a spot in the final.

Breakout Stars

Singapore marks the first-ever World Championships for a handful of athletes, including Spain’s Estella Tonrath, Australia’s Hannah Fredericks and Great Britain’s Holly McGill.

Estella Tonrath (photo: István Derencsény/LEN)

At 18 years old, Tonrath has won multiple medals in the 200 back at European Junior Championships over the years and made it to the final at the 2022 World Junior Championships. She came into this season with a lifetime best of 2:09.95 before throwing down a time of 2:08.03 and setting a new national record at the Spanish Open Championships in June. Tonrath’s performance ranks her 14th in the world this season, and she is the #6 seed heading into the World Championships. Tonrath leads a group of 10 swimmers all with times in the 2:08 range, so she will have to stay on top of her game to safely secure a spot in the final.

Close behind Tonrath is McGill, whose best time of 2:08.20 from the Aquatics GB Championship in April ranks her 16th in the world and 7th heading to Singapore. McGill had been turning in consistent 2:09s prior to her performance in April, but since posting her lifetime best she has been swimming above the 2:10 mark. McGill’s most recent race was at the Sette Colli Trophy in Rome, where she swam 2:11.92 to take 2nd. McGill should be a top contender to squeeze into the final, but she will need to get back down to the low 2:08 range.

Seeded just .05 behind McGill, Fredericks is sure to be chasing her down in Singapore. The past few seasons saw Fredericks take 3rd at multiple Australian qualifying meets, narrowly missing out on making it to the 2023 World Championships and the 2024 Olympic Games, making this her first major international competition. While Fredericks set a lifetime best time of 2:08.25 at the 2024 Australian Swimming Trials, she has not been under 2:09 since then. Her top time so far this season was 2:09.54, which ranks 25th in the world; Fredericks will likely need to make a big move during the earlier heats if she wants to make it to the final.

The Verdict

Given her winning history and repeated dominance in this event, McKeown seems to be the favorite to bring home the gold in Singapore. She has the clear edge as the world record holder in the event, as well as boasting the most sub-2:04 performances of any female swimmer in history.

McKeown will need to keep the pressure on in order to stay ahead of Smith and Curzan in the final, but she boasts the fastest time in the world this season by well over half a second, showing her to be in top form as the competition approaches.

SwimSwam’s Picks

Dark Horse: Dora Molnar (Hungary) – Seeded 16th for Worlds, Molnar placed 7th in the 200 back at both the 2022 World Championships (2:10.08) and the 2024 World Championships (2:11.01). At the Paris Olympics last summer, Molnar finished 12th in 2:09.83, not far off of the lifetime best 2:09.02 she had posted a month earlier. While the USC commit swam 2:10.62 at the Hungarian Championships in April, she has been primarily hovering in the 2:09 range for the past few seasons, having hit that mark nine times since the 2022 Worlds. If Molnar can manage to turn in a top performance and break into the 2:08 range in Singapore, she could have a shot at the final.