2025 World Championships
- July 27 – August 3, 2025 (pool swimming)
- Singapore, Singapore
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- LCM (50m)
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The women’s 100m backstroke on day three of these 2025 World Championships was a battle from start to finish, as we saw the familiar duo of American Regan Smith and Australian Kaylee McKeown go stroke-for-stroke in tonight’s main event.
When all was said and done, it was Olympic multi-champion McKeown who touched first, firing off a Championship Record of 57.16.
That blew away the previous meet mark of 57.53 the Aussie established at the 2023 edition of this competition. It also clocked a new personal best for the megastar, overtaking the 57.33 Australian, Oceanic and Olympic record she notched en route to claiming gold last year in Paris.
Tonight, Smith settled for silver a hair behind in 57.35 while fellow American Katharine Berkhoff earned the bronze in 58.15.
As for McKeown, the 24-year-old’s performance fell only 0.03 seconds outside Smith’s World Record of 57.13, set at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials. It checks in as the 2nd-swiftest outing ever.
Top 10 Women’s LCM Performances All-Time
- 57.13 – Regan Smith (USA), 2024
- 57.16 – Kaylee McKeown (AUS), 2025
- 57.28 – Regan Smith (USA), 2023
- 57.33 – Kaylee McKeown (AUS), 2024 & Kaylee McKeown (AUS), 2024
- –
- 57.35 – Regan Smith (USA), 2025
- 57.41 – Kaylee McKeown (AUS), 2024
- 57.45 – Kaylee McKeown (AUS), 2021
- 57.46 – Regan Smith (USA), 2025
- 57.47 – Kaylee McKeown (AUS), 2021 & Regan Smith (USA), 2024
Remarkably, McKeown and Smith have produced the top 24 best-ever performances between them.
| McKeown’s New 57.16 Oceanic Record | McKeown’s Old 57.33 Oceanic Record | McKeown’s Old 57.53 World Championships Record |
| 27.92 | 28.08 | 28.03 |
| 29.24 | 29.25 | 29.50 |
McKeown’s feat this evening comes not only after she dropped the 50m back event but also after The Sydney Morning Herald’s Tom Decent reported that the Aussie suffered a dislocated shoulder after this year’s Aussie Trials.
Some news regarding Kaylee McKeown ahead of her showdown tonight with USA’s Regan Smith in the women’s 100m backstroke final.
Can reveal McKeown dislocated her shoulder in recent weeks. Something she’s been managing + other niggles
More details later @SMHsport. Final 9.49pm👀
— Tom Decent (@tomdecent) July 29, 2025
McKeown became the first woman ever to win gold in both the 100m backstroke and 200m backstroke at back-to-back Olympic Games.
Feel free to read the comments and laugh:
https://swimswam.com/world-record-holder-kaylee-mckeown-scratches-50-backstroke-at-2025-world-championships/
I am not a medical expert but I have experienced my shoulder “popping” out and then popping right back in place. I was able to swim very soon after that happened. I was a little sore and that was it.
I am very loose jointed however, and possibly a doctor would say that wasn’t a real dislocation. I am not sure what else to call it , however.
Im an Aussie, but at this point… i just really feel for Regan: i really thought this was the best chance for Regan to finally beat Kaylee, but somehow Kaylee wins again. When the camera panned to her after the race, you could see Regan was on the brink of tears – it def took all her strength to hold back crying.
One day. One day Regan will finally beat her demon.
It’s not a demon lol Kaylee is just a better racer. Regan is amazing, but Kaylee is just better when it counts.
It’s clearly part mental part small sample size bias.
I think Kaylee is clearly a little bit better than Regan, but if they keep running it back every year I expect Regan will win one eventually.
As an Australian I hope it’s 2027 and not 2028 (no offense Regan).
She’s clearly the GOAT of women’s backstroke. Unless Regan can beat her in LA Olympics, then I might form a slightly different view.
Gonna take more than Regan winning at a single Olympics to overtake Kaylee.
Looking at Kaylee’s numbers, if Regan wants to ever have a chance to beat Kaylee, she really needs to focus on being able to come home under 29.50 consistently like all the time. She has only done it twice 57.13(29.19) and 57.28(29.44) so far in her career, which happen to be her top two times, while Kaylee has been able to do this pretty much every single time. Not saying it will change anything but we never know.
Love the medical experts…plenty of sportsmen and women can dislocate their shoulder without a prolonged rehabilitation, happens all the time. Obviously injuries can be more severe with significant structural injuries…but just look at the Tour de France this year – Alaphillpe crashed hard, had his shoulder put back in by the doctor, continued the race and sprinted for what he thought was the win…
Kind of feel like your shoulder is more important in Backstroke than cycling.
Obviously the injury was minor enough to be manageable for Kaylee, which is all that matters.
Like Ledecky, with Kaylee, you just have to bow to greatness.
Kaylee – the undisputed queen of backstroke. She manages her last 15 meters like no one else, this is where she beats Regan every single time. With all due to respect to Regan, she is the WR holder and incredible, however I don’t think we can call this a rivalry. Kaylee owns this event and the entire field. It is simply remarkable how she continues to win these majors.