McKeown Blasts 2:05.55 200 Back Prelim At Sydney Open

2021 SYDNEY OPEN

• Thursday, May 13th – Sunday, May 16th
• Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre
• LCM (50m)
• Heats at 6pm local; Finals at 9am local
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• Start List
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• Results or Meet Mobile

While competing on day 1 of the 2021 Sydney Open in her native Australia, 19-year-old Kaylee McKeown casually put up the 11th fastest 200m backstroke performance of all-time.

Racing in the evening prelims of this 4-day meet, McKeown of USC Spartans fired off a big-time result of 2:05.55, claiming lane 4 by well over 7 seconds.

Opening in 1:01.43 and closing in 1:04.12, McKeown’s sub-2:06 effort here is already just a second off of her world-leading 2:04.46 from last November. That lifetime best not only checked in as the new Australian record, but it also rendered the Aussie teen as the world’s 3rdf fastest performer all-time.

McKeown still has the final yet to go here in Sydney, with those taking place in the morning to mimic the timing of nighttime prelims and AM finals that will be at this summer’s Olympic Games.

Additional Notes:

• Freestyle ace Jack McLoughlin got it done for the top spot in the men’s 400m free in 3:51.45, holding a slight advantage over UWSC’s Zac Incerti‘s 3:51.57.
• Olympic medalist Emma McKeon topped the women’s 50m fly field in 26.21, with 3 women getting under 27 in the prelim.
• The men’s 200 fly saw Nic Brown churn out a night swim of 1:59.33, giving him the pole position ahead of Bowen Gough (1:59.89) and Matthew Temple (1:59.93), the only other sub-2:00 swimmers of the field.
• Chelse Hodges put up a strong swim in the women’s 100m breaststroke, stopping the clock in 1:06.76. That sliced .16 off of her previous season-best of 1:06.92 from the Queensland Championships last December.
• Matt Wilson turned in a 50m breast prelim swim of 27.85 to lead the field.
• Cate Campbell scorched a 100m free time of 53.15 to claim lane 4 just .18 ahead of McKeon who doubled up on the 50m fly with a 100m free outing of 53.33. Madi Wilson of Marion also produced a mark under 54 seconds in the prelim, rounding out the top 3 in 53.51.
• 30-year-old James Roberts of Somerset posted 49.64 to lead the men’s 100m free field, while Incerti was next in 49.71. New Zealand’s Michael Pickett hit 49.77 while Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers is in the mix with a night prelim result of 49.90.
• The women’s 400m IM saw Hunter’s Meg Bailey post 4:43.13, while kiwi Andrew Jeffcoat leads the men’s 50m back in 25.21.