NSW State Champs, Day 3: Kaylee McKeown Nudges Own 50 Backstroke World Record with Sizzling 27.06 in Prelims
The amazing feats of the unstoppable Kaylee McKeown have continued in Sydney today with the four-time Olympic champion nudging her own world record for 50 metres backstroke – clocking 27.06 in the preliminaries of the NSW State Championships.
The time was just 0.20secs outside her own world record of 26.86 set at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka and needless to say McKeown didn’t back up for the final – job done!
And it stands as the fastest time in the world this year, as does her earlier winning times over the previous two days at this meet – her 200m backstroke time of 2:04.57 and her 100m backstroke time of 57.73 – all on two weeks and nine sessions of full training.
McKeown now owns six of the fastest 50m backstroke times of all-time.
List of Women’s Top 10 Times, 50m backstroke:
26.86 Kaylee McKeown (AUS)
26.98 Xing Liu (CHN)
26.98 Kaylee McKeown (AUS)
27.02 Kaylee McKeown (AUS)
27.06 Jing Zhao (CHN)
27.06 Kaylee McKeown (AUS)
27.07 Kaylee McKeown (AUS)
27.08 Kaylee McKeown (AUS)
27.10 Regan Smith (USA)
27.10 Kira Toussaint (CAN)
Meanwhile a new male backstroking find in the shape of Victorian Country 16-year-old, Henry Allan from Bendigo East and coached by John Jordan continues to rise.
The talented teenager winning the 100m backstroke title in impressive style and breaking his own Australian 16 Years record into the bargain with his time of 54.23 (26.26).
A time faster than Olympians Isaac Cooper (55.07) and Andrew Lauterstein (55.44) had swum at the same age.
Henry had earlier in the week smashed his own Australian 16 Years record not once but twice in one day, lowering it to 25.00 in the final where he beat Paris Olympians Zac Incerti and Bradley Woodward.
And in the 100m backstroke final Allan left Enoch Robb (Griffith, QLD) 55.21 and Joshua Edwards-Smith (Griffith University, QLD) 55.38 in his wake.
Allan and coach Jordan have recently spent time working with Olympic gold medal coach Craig Jackson in the Melbourne Vic Centre program at MSAC.
Meanwhile Jackson’s night two-star Tara Kinder (Melbourne Vicentre, VIC) added her fourth title of the meet, unleashing withering breaststroke and freestyle legs to win the 200IM in a new personal best time of 2:11.39 (29.23; 34.47; 36.55; 31.14) – the ninth fastest time by Australian.
Adding to her successes in the 200m breaststroke (2:23.84), the 100m breaststroke (1:07.42) and the 400m IM (4:42.59) – all personal best times in what has been a breakthrough meet for the 21-year-old, who took 14 months off in 2022 and 2023 – returning with a new leash of life.
Another swimmer in tip top form has been consistent South Australian 24-year-old Brittany Castelluzzo from Tea Tree Gully – adding the tough 200m butterfly (2:07.37) and 200m freestyle (1:58.87) double – just 20 minutes apart.
Castelluzzo had earlier in the meet won the 100m freestyle in 54.68 and finished second over 800m in 8:55.41.
