Olympic champion Kaylee McKeown won the women’s 100m backstroke swimming event at the NSW State Open Championships 2024 held at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre on Saturday.
McKeown’s time of 57.57s was the joint sixth-fastest time in history along with USA’s Regan Smith. The fastest five also belong to McKeown, including the standing world record of 57.33 set by her at the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup 2023 in October.
On Saturday, the 22-year-old swimmer was followed by Mollie O’Callaghan (58.71) and 2019 World Championship silver medallist Minna Atherton (1:01.42) on the podium.
McKeown has been in solid form. Earlier at the NSW State Open Championships 2024, she clocked 2:04.21 to win the 200m backstroke with the second-fastest time this year. It was at the same event last year that McKeown set the current world record of 2:03.14.
McKeown also owns the world record in 50m backstroke and is the first woman in history to hold world records in all three backstroke disciplines. All three records were set last year.
At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, McKeown won gold medals in the 100m backstroke, 200m backstroke and the 4×100m medley events in addition to a bronze in the 4×100m mixed medley.
The NSW State Open Championships are a crucial event in the build-up to the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympic trials to be held in Brisbane in June.
