2025 World Championships
- July 27 – August 3, 2025 (pool swimming)
- Singapore, Singapore
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The women’s 200m backstroke final was among tonight’s events on day seven of the 2025 World Championships and Kaylee McKeown of Australia stole the show.
Already the 100m backstroke gold medalist here in the 2nd-best performance of all time, McKeown ripped a 2back effort of 2:03.33 to top the podium once again.
McKeown beat the field by nearly a second, one that included her American cat-and-mouse rival Regan Smith.
Smith settled for another silver, her fourth of this competition, clocking 2:04.29.
Her stars n’ stripes teammate Claire Curzan rounded out the podium in 2:06.04.
As for McKeown, her time established a new competition record, overtaking the previous mark of 2:03.35 Smith put on the books at the 2019 edition of the World Championships for a new American record there in Gwangju.
McKeown got out in front with a speedy opening 29.22 but the primary difference between the two meet record-setting swims came on the final 50m. McKeown closed in 30.83 to Smith’s previous 31.51.
| McKeown’s New Meet Record – 2:03.33 | Smith’s Old Meet Record – 2:03.35 |
| 29.22 | 29.06 |
| 32.12 | 31.31 |
| 31.16 | 31.47 |
| 30.83 | 31.51 |
McKeown was visibly spent after the race, bypassing the on-deck interview due to feeling ill immediately after hitting the wall.
Her 2:03.33 outing checks in as the #3 performance in history.
Top 5 Women’s LCM 200 Backstroke Performances All-Time
- 2:03.14 – Kaylee McKeown (AUS), 2023
- 2:03.30 – Kaylee McKeown (AUS), 2024
- 2:03.33 – Kaylee McKeown (AUS), 2025
- 2:03.35 – Regan Smith (USA), 2019
- 2:03.69 – Regan Smith (USA), 2019
McKeown owns the world record in a PB of 2:03.14 set in 2023 and tonight’s performance fell just .19 outside of that remarkable swim.
WOMEN’S 200 BACKSTROKE – Final
- World Record: 2:03.14 — Kaylee McKeown, Australia (2023)
- World Junior Record: 2:03.35 — Regan Smith, United States (2019)
Championship Record: 2:03.35 — Regan Smith, United States (2019)- 2023 World Champion: Kaylee McKeown, Australia — 2:03.85
- 2024 Olympic Champion: Kaylee McKeown, Australia — 2:03.73
Final:
- Kaylee McKeown (Australia) — 2:03.33 *Championship Record
- Regan Smith (United States) — 2:04.29
- Claire Curzan (United States) — 2:06.04
- Peng Xuwei (China) — 2:07.22
- Anastasiya Shkurdai (NAA) — 2:08.09
- Liu Yaxin (China) — 2:09.71
- Dora Molnar (Hungary) — 2:09.74
- Lise Seidel (Germany) — 2:10.01
She may have been feeling too sick for a post-race interview, but Kaylee McKeown kept the good times rolling for Australia in the women’s 200 backstroke. That’s two gold medals in two events for the country, as McKeown followed up McEvoy’s 50 freestyle gold by winning the 200 backstroke.
She defended her Olympic gold with a championship record of 2:03.33, stopping the clock .19 seconds from her world record. The championship record was formerly a 2:03.35 by Regan Smith, which was a world record when she swam it.
Smith took the race out hard, flipping in 28.95 at the 50 and 1:00.61 at the 100. The Americans were running 1-2 at the halfway point, with Claire Curzan flipping second in 1:01.07 and McKeown third at 1:01.34. McKeown closed the gap on the third 50, moving into second place just three-hundredths behind Smith. She surged on the final 50 meters with a 30.83 closing split to secure the win.
McKeown has now won both the 100 and 200 backstroke at her last three major long-course meets: 2025 Worlds, 2024 Olympics, and 2023 Worlds. Of course, she is also the two-time defending Olympic champion in both.
Smith swam a season-best 2:04.29 to win her third individual silver medal of the meet, getting back under the 2:04 barrier. Though she wasn’t able to hold off McKeown, she was almost two seconds ahead of the bronze medalist, her teammate Curzan. Curzan swept the women’s backstrokes at the 2024 World Championships but missed qualifying for the Paris Olympics. This bronze medal (2:06.04) marks her return to the podium at a fully loaded senior long-course international meet.
To quote a famous statement: Backstroke races are simple, 8 women swim and at the end, McKeown always wins.
She got lucky with the Covid delay. It changed history.
Kaylee Mckeown emptying out her pockets.
As long as it’s not Android
“As for McKeown, her time established a new competition record, overtaking the previous mark of 2:03.35 Smith put on the books at the 2019 edition of the World Championships for a new American record there in Gwangju.”
It was also the World Record.
The QUEEN!!
Kaylee now holds a record 10 major LCM backstroke titles (4 Olympic, 6 Worlds), the most of anyone swimmer swimmer in history. She has the fastest 50, 100 and 200 backstroke times ever recorded at major international competition. She is the only woman ever to hold all 3 LCM backstroke records.
There is no denying now that she is the backstroke GOAT.
Female swimmer, Peirsol also has 10 major LCM backstroke titles.
Agreed, I think this double gold further cements her above Egerszegi, who has the last feat for Kaylee to achieve, the Olympic 3-peat.
Yeah if it was close before this meet, it’s not any more.
To me it’s more about where she fits all-time everyone. Do you think this meet moves her ahead of Thorpe? He was a much bigger cultural phenomenon, but her resume is starting to stack up really nicely against his.
The similarities here between McKeown and Thorpe include them both winning WC gold and holding world records in previously non-Olympic (and their 3rd best) events:
McKeown gets the upper hand at the Olympics in winning 4 individual Olympic gold medals across both her best events whereas Thorpe has 3 individual gold medals in his best events:
Another similarity is they both won an Olympic bronze in… Read more »
Statistically she is ahead of him. But in Australian culture Thorpe will be very difficult to overcome. Thorpe, Dawnie, Hackett, and even Arnie and Emma are more known in Australia. Freestylers get all the attention.
I think Kaylee will need another gold in LA for the average Australian to put her up there.
Not yet. Statistics include more than medals. Thorpe’s times in the 2/4 free were more anomalous than Kaylee’s times in the 1/2 back. And careers include more than statistics. Thorpe went 3 seconds faster than anybody else in history in the 4 free, then backed it up an hour later by anchoring the end to the US’s 4×1 free reign, at 17, in front of a home crowd. That night alone puts Kaylee at least another quad away from moving ahead. Only a four-peat in Brisbane would truly seal the deal.
The better comp is Kitajima. Both have range in their strokes and traded world records with their rivals, but won when it really mattered.
I agree, but I also think Regan made some colossal mistakes, the main one being adding the 200 fly in 2021. Kaylee simply had the momentum after that. Also, it’s unlikely Kaylee would have won if Olympics had actually been held in 2020. That was sheer bad luck for Regan.
Kaylee hit all her best times at the time in 2021 right before Olympics. That’s the only caveat for me. And Regan’s training was badly affected during COVID. US shutdowns were much more rigid than Australia’s. But since then, it’s been Kaylee again and again, so that’s saying something, too.
Kaylee had the fastest 100 and 200 backstrokes in the world in 2020. You never know what might have happened, but there’s every chance Kaylee wins in 2020 anyway
She was not near 2:03 in the 200 Back and only surpassed Regan in 100 in 2021. These are the facts.
Kaylee lost her father few months before the Olympics.
Y’all Americans keep making excuses for Regan while not considering Kaylee had it worse it’s unbelievable.
That was a truly harsh and sad personal loss for Kaylee – no question. But she lost her father in August 2020. Again, it would have affected the actual Olympic cycle had the COVID delay not occurred. BTW – this is not making excuses. It must be acknowledged that Olympics are usually held every quad. We all know that momentum matters and affects athletes. Here, unfortunately, Regan was negatively impacted. It can’t go unmentioned. And frankly, until this meet, Kaylee had not surpassed Regan’s best time in 200 back in an international meet. Kaylee’s world record was at a low level local meet, unlike Regan’s.
I have also wondered about Regan and the 200 fly. Summer there is untouchable. Additionally, the ROW has largely caught the US and it is going to take more focus for US swimmers to win. I’d like to see Regan drop the 2 fly at the next WC and see if she can finally top McKeown.
Upv*ted. Egerszegi is a legend, but Kalyee is the backstroke GOAT.