Isaac Cooper Breaks Australian, Oceanic Records In 50 Backstroke

2023 NEW SOUTH WALES STATE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Friday, March 10th – Sunday, March 12th
• Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Center (SOPAC)
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Site
• SwimSwam Preview
• Start List
• Results – Meet Mobile: 2023 NSW State Open Championships

19-year-old Isaac Cooper produced a new Australian national record and Oceanic continental record in the men’s 50m backstroke.

While competing on day one of the 2023 New South Wales State Open Championships, the St. Andrews swimmer posted a time of 24.38 to grab the gold over a second ahead of the field. Bradley Woodward claimed silver in 25.57 while Ben Armbruster rounded out the top 3 in 25.68.

Cooper’s performance tonight represents a new lifetime best, beating out the 24.44 he logged at last year’s Australian National Championships. That result stood as the national record and Oceanic record.

Cooper’s time also crushed the 24.76 he posted in Budapest which rendered him the 8th-place finisher in this event.

With his outing here, Cooper now becomes the 16th fastest performer in history while also overtaking the season’s world rankings.

Cooper is coming off of a successful 2022 where he claimed silver in Budapest as a member of Australia’s mixed medley relay at the World Championships (LC).

Last December, Cooper came away with 5 medals at the Short Course World Championships, including 50m back silver and 100 back bronze.