The 2023-24 season is young, but Australia’s backstroke star Kaylee McKeown has picked up right where she left off after becoming the first person to sweep the backstrokes at a World Championships.
She reset the World Cup record in the 50, 100, and 200 backstroke at the opening leg of the World Cup series in Berlin, Germany. Then, she opened her meet in Athens by blasting a 27.02 in the 50 backstroke–just .04 seconds off Liu Xiang‘s world record from 2018.
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Courtesy: SportNMedia (via Twitter)
The swim establishes McKeown as the #2 performer all-time in the event. In addition to being a new World Cup record, it is also a new Oceanic record for the 22-year-old Australian, breaking the mark she swam at 2023 Worlds by six-hundredths.
All-Time Top 10, Women’s 50 Backstroke (LCM)
- Liu Xiang, China — 26.98 (2018)
- Kaylee McKeown, Australia — 27.02 (2023)
- Zhao Jing, China — 27.06 (2009)
- Kira Toussaint, Netherlands/Regan Smith, United States — 27.10 (2021/2023)
- (tie)
- Fu Yuanhui, China — 27.11 (2015)
- Katharine Berkoff, United States — 27.12 (2022)
- Etiene Medeiros, Brazil — 27.14 (2017)
- Kylie Masse, Canada — 27.18 (2022)
- Kathleen Dawson, Great Britain — 27.19 (2021)
McKeown will have another chance at the world record at the final stop on the World Cup circuit next weekend in Budapest, Hungary. If she snags it, she will own all three backstroke world records at the same time. She already holds the 100 back (57.45) and 200 back (2:03.14).
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