Iona Anderson Breaks Kaylee McKeown’s Aussie Age Record With 58.43 100 Back

2024 AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC TRIALS

• Monday, June 10th – Saturday, June 15th
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In what was a history-making final of the women’s 100 backstroke at the Australian Olympic Trials, 18-year-old Iona Anderson added her name to the record board despite falling shy of landing an Olympic berth.

Kaylee McKeown recorded the second-fastest swim in history, Mollie O’Callaghan became the fourth swimmer to dip under the 58-second barrier, and Anderson took down a National Age Record that was established by McKeown during her rise to prominence.

Anderson swam to a new lifetime best of 58.43 to touch third, lowering McKeown’s Aussie Age Record for 18-year-old girls of 58.52 established in January 2020 at the South Australia State Championships.

Anderson came within .01 of McKeown’s record last month at the Swimming WA Season Opener, though her 58.53 clocking was done during the front half of a 200 and it’s not clear if the record would’ve stood if she was under it (it still doesn’t appear in the Swimming Australia Portal as an official time).

Prior to that swim, Anderson’s previous best time stood at 59.12, set in the final of the 2024 World Championships in Doha where she was the silver medalist behind American Claire Curzan (58.29).

Split Comparison

Race Video

Australian Swimming Trials (50M) – #Paris2024

📍Brisbane 🇦🇺

🏊‍♀️ 100M DOS

🕗 59.62 (#Paris2024 🇫🇷)

🥇Kaylee McKeown 57.41 🎟️
🥈Mollie O’Callaghan 57.88 🎟️
🥉Iona Anderson 58.43#Natation #AusSwimTrials pic.twitter.com/KRgWp7q7gM

— MR.CARTER (@NelsonCarterJr) June 11, 2024

Anderson is the sixth Australian woman to break 59 seconds in the 100 back, moving past Minna Atherton and Madi Wilson to rank #4 all-time.

All-Time Australian Performers, Women’s 100 Back (LCM)

1. Kaylee McKeown, 57.33 – 2023
2. Mollie O’Callaghan, 57.88 – 2024
3. Emily Seebohm, 58.23 – 2012
4. Iona Anderson, 58.43 – 2024
5. Minna Atherton, 58.60 – 2019
6. Madi Wilson, 58.75 – 2015
7. Jaclyn Barclay, 59.28 – 2024
8. Belinda Hocking, 59.29 – 2012
9. Hannah Fredericks, 59.44 – 2024
10. Holly Barratt, 59.66 – 2017

Anderson slots into #6 in the world this season.

With the 100 back semis having close proximity to the 200 free final in Paris, it’s possible O’Callaghan, the world record holder in the 200 free, will opt out of the 100 back at the Olympics, which would open the door for Anderson to land a spot in Paris.

Juxtaposed to the women’s 100 breast, where none of the swimmers were under the Australian Olympic Qualifying Time, the top four in the 100 back were under it (59.62), including the top three by more than a full second.