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
Race Video courtesy of BairnOwl YouTube channel.
While competing on day one of the 2023 New South Wales State Open Championships, unrested multi-Olympic medalist Kaylee McKeown broke the World Record in the women’s 200m backstroke.
McKeown crushed a time of 2:03.14 for gold, beating the field by over 7 seconds. In doing so, McKeown overtook the previous World Record mark of 2:03.35 American Regan Smith put on the books in the semi-final of this event at the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju.
| SMITH’S PREVIOUS WR | MCKEOWN’S NEW WR |
| 29.06 | 29.34 |
| 31.31 | 31.39 |
| 31.47 | 31.11 |
| 31.51 | 31.3 |
| 2:03.35 | 2:03.14 |
Entering this meet, 21-year-old McKeown’s lifetime best rested at the 2:04.28 national record she produced at the 2021 Australian Swimming Trials. That rendered her the world’s 3rd fastest performer in history behind the aforementioned Smith and American Missy Franklin.
McKeown is already the World Record holder in the 100m back as well, owning that mark at the 57.45 she produced in 2021 as well. She is also the reigning Olympic champion in both the 100m and 200m backstroke events.
You can read more about McKeown’s World Record here.
The way she just drops MOC in that 3rd 50 is amazing
Kaylee Mackeown is currently the only swimmer to hold Olympics gold, Worlds LC gold, Worlds SC gold, WR, and Commonwealth gold in one individual event at the same time.
Has this ever happened to a previous swimmer?
Grant Hackett in the 1500. Titmus also had all of those but not concurrently.
I was on the fence about shelling out the $12 for the stream but I’m glad I did so I could clip the video for you all. It was cool to see the WR live on stream!
Thank you!
The atmosphere was about as casual as you could get. About half way through the race instead of hearing the announcer say that McKeown was on world record pace we hear her say that Jack Ireland and a couple of other people should go to the presentation area. Did they go? We’ll never know.
Jack will forever be immortalised in swimming history now
Reminds me of when I was in the marshalling room when grant Hackett broke the 800m SC world record at a similar meet in Melbourne 2008
Amazing, talented swimmer and very humble.
Yes the swimming nsw interview afterwards is great – she gives great credit to Regan. Plus she said her lovely mum had no idea lol.
Do you have a link to the interview? I haven’t seen it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af4cpf0sNA8&ab_channel=HansonMediaGroup1
Thank you!
That’s cool but the jeopardy winner from last night used to swim for swimatlanta
I wonder if they could hear the music under that water.
“yeah…I was chilling to the Police while I swam, broke a WR, all good”
🙂
Sting told me that he was watching me when I breathed, so I stayed underwater longer.
😆
Clearly my 1 downvote is somebody who is still super bitter about The Police breaking up.