Aussie Selection Trials, Day 2, Finals: Kaylee McKeown Digs Deep To Keep Unbeaten Backstroke Record Intact
Australia’s Olympic backstroking queen Kaylee McKeown showed why she remains unstoppable in Sydney tonight, keeping her seven-year unbeaten record in major finals intact, despite swimming under a sickness cloud.
The 24-year-old Queenslander had to pull out all stops at the Australian Trials Meet to keep her Paris Olympic teammate, Iona Anderson at bay, after the 2024 World Championship silver medallist had beaten McKeown in the morning heat.
And in the final it was Anderson (Highlanders, WA) coming back from a back injury which sidelined her for last year’s WorldChampionships, who edged in front of the world’s greatest female backstroker at the 50m turn.
START UP: Kaylee McKeown gets down to business run Sydney Photo Courtesy Delly Carr (Swimming Australia).
The 20-year-old Western Australian touching in 28.46 with McKeown (USC Spartans, QLD) a only marginally behind in 28.52.
And in true McKeown fashion, the toughest of racers, powered off the wall with her young rival trying to hang on, Kaylee digging deep and unleashing her trademark back end to win in 57.77 – the third fastest time in the world this year.
Anderson finished second and her time of 58.60 fast enough to book her place on the Australian Commonwealth Games team for Glasgow – giving Australia a two-pronged backstroking attack.
McKeown had been a surprise withdrawal from the day one 200IM, electing to look after her body, concentrating on the 50m backstroke which she won in a thriller in the fastest time of the year from fellow Olympic champion Mollie O’Callaghan, as news spread around the pool that she was “under the weather” with sickness.
When asked on Australia’s host broadcaster Channel 9 after the race, how her body was holding up ? McKeown played it down, saying, “It’s holding together ok…at the end of the day it’s important to show that no matter what, you have to stand up and give it your best…you don’t get things given to you in life, you have to put it together and see what you can do.”
GOOD TIMES: Sam Short celebrates his 200m freestyle National title. Photo Courtesy Delly Carr (Swimming Australia).
And 24 hours after nudging the 400m freestyle world record, 22-year-old Queenslander Sam Short (Rackley, QLD) made it a daily double, barnstorming home in his second personal best of the day to win the 200m freestyle – swimming near pbs on his way through clocking 1:45.16 after his 1:45.52 in the morning.
Short was always going to challenge the field from behind and that’s just what unfolded with his Paris Olympic teammate Kai Taylor (St Peters Western, QLD) and Ed Sommerville (Brisbane Grammar, QLD) taking the field out.
Taylor leading at the 50m turn in 24.15, Sommerville taking over to lead through the 100m in 50.75 and at the final 150m turn in 1:18.13 as the field started to come together – Short stalking them in third and fourth place for most of the race.
But unleashing a “money lap” down the third 50 in 26.99 to turn in second – producing the second fastest final 50 of 26.94 to win a blanket finish from Taylor (1:45.30), Harrison Turner (1:45.71) and Sommerville (1:45.72).
TAYLOR MADE: Kai Taylor ‘s first personal best in the 200m freestyle in three years gave him every reason to smile. Photo Courtesy Delly Carr (Swimming Australia).
Taylor clocking his first pb in three years, Turner, the 200m butterfly World Championship bronze medallist last year, his pb also; with Sommerville – who is the only swimmer who has swum sub 1:45 rounding off what could well be the most exciting 4x200m free relay team for many years.
“My only strategy for tonight was to stay with Ed (Sommerville). I thought Ed was the man to beat tonight, the sole 1:44-minute swimmer in the field, so I was trying ride off him as long as I could … then it was just us three boys in a sprint finish.
“I thought I had no shot getting that (time). If you had asked me a week ago if I was going to go (1:45min) I would have said ‘no chance’.”
Turner wasn’t done for the night, lining up in the 100m butterfly final which saw Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Matt Temple (Marion, SA) charge to his sixth National title in a Games qualifying time of 50.50 – second placed Olympian Ben Armbruster (Bond, QLD) second in 51.00 and Turner third in 51.47 – both just outside the QT – but pushing Temple to the wall.
Meanwhile Paris Olympian and World Championship medallist Alex Perkins (USC Spartans, QLD) added the 50m butterfly to her 100m win to confirm her status as Australia’s premier female butterflyer – clocking 25.60 to land another Glasgow qualifier with Lily Price (Rackley, QLD) second in 25.91 and just outside the QT and a deadhead for third between Mackenzie Burns. (St Andrews, QLD) and Claudia Fydler (Bond, QLD) in 26.21.
FLYING: Six-time Australian champion in the 100m butterfly Matt Temple just keeps on keeping on. Photo Courtesy Delly Carr (Swimming Australia).
Results
2026 Australian Trials and Australian Championships, After 2 Days:
MEN
Freestyle
200m
Sam Short (Rackley, QLD) 1:45.16
Kai Taylor (St Peters Western, QLD) 1:45.30
Harrison Turner (Nudgee College, QLD) 1:45.71
Ed Sommerville (Brisbane Grammar, QLD) 1:45.72
400m
Sam Short (Rackley, QLD) 3:40.67
Elijah Winnington (St Peters Western, QLD) 3:44.17
Benjamin Goedemans (St Peters Western, QLD) 3:45.85
Backstroke
50m
Isaac Cooper (St Andrews, QLD) 24.46
Henry Allan (Bendigo East, VIC) 24.59
Mark Nikolaev (Somerset, QLD) 25.33
100m
Henry Allan (Bendigo East, VIC) 53.52
Stuart Swinburn (City of Sydney, NSW) 54.62
Adam Graham (Manly, NSW) 54.64
Breaststroke
100m
Sam Williamson (Melbourne Vicentre, VIC) 59.07
Bailey Lello (St Peters Western, QLD) 1:00.33
Joshua Anderson (Brisbane Grammar, QLD) 1:00.42
Butterfly
100m
Matt Temple (Marion, SA) 50.50
Ben Armbruster (Bond, QLD) 51.00
Harrison Turner (Nudgee College, QLD) 51.47
WOMEN
Freestyle
400m
Lani Pallister (St Peters Western, QLD) 3:59.72
Jenna Forrester (St Peters Western, QLD) 4:04.30
Amelia Weber (St Peters Western, QLD) 4:05.79
Backstroke
50m
Kaylee McKeown (USC Spartans, QLD) 27.13
Mollie O’Callaghan (St Peters Western, QLD) 27.19
Iona Anderson (Highlanders, WA) 27.33
100m
Kaylee McKeown (USC Spartans, QLD) 57.77
Iona Anderson (Highlanders, WA) 58.60
Hannah Fredericks (St Peters Western, QLD) 59.79
Breaststroke
100m
Sienna Toohey (Albury, NSW) 1:05.97
Ella Ramsay (Nunawading, VIC) 1:06.70
Sienna Harben (Griffith, QLD) 1:07.10
Butterfly
50m
Alex Perkins (USC Spartans, QLD) 25.60
Lily Price (Rackley, QLD) 25.91
Mackenzie Burns (St Andrews, QLD) 26.21 dh
Claudia Fydler (Bond, QLD) 26.21
100m
Alex Perkins (USC Spartans, QLD) 56.88
Brittany Castelluzzo (Tea Tree Gully, SA) 57.88
Isabella Boyd (Nunawading, VIC) 57.98
individual medley
200m
Jenna Forrester (St Peters Western, QLD) 2:09.07
Ella Ramsay (Nunawading, VIC) 2:09.40
Tara Kinder (Melbourne Vicentre, VIC) 2:10.14
MULTI-CLASS
MEN
Freestyle
200m
Declan Budd (Knox Pymble, NSW) 1:56.37
Jak Ireland (University of QLD) 1:56.47
Darren Sisman (Cronulla, NSW) 1:57.17
Backstroke
50m
Ben Hance (St Andrews, QLD) 25.88
Liam Togher (Knox Pymble, NSW) 30.21
Eli Kerr (Warnambool, VIC) 33.50
Butterfly
50m
Alex Saffy (Woden Valley, ACT) 26.27
Daniel Rigby (Knox Pymble, NSW) 28.13
Will Martin (Sunshine Coast Grammar, QLD) 27.92
100m
Declan Budd (Knox Pymble, NSW) 57.11
Tim Hodge (Blacktown, NSW) 1:00.47
Alex Saffy (Woden Valley, ACT) 57.67
WOMEN
Freestyle
200m
Madeline McTernan (Griffith Uni, QLD) 2:10.87
Ruby Storm (USC Spartans, QLD) 2:12.82
Chloe Osborn (Blacktown, NSW) 2:32.59
Backstroke
50m
Madeline McTernan (Griffith Uni, QLD) 32.63
Michelle Fawer (Engadine, NSW) 36.95
Giselle Tapfield (Tivoli Swim Club/Rose Bay, NSW) 37.21
Butterfly
50m
Kael Thompson (USC Spartans, QLD) 30.55
Jordan Berryman (UWA-West Coast, WA) 39.28
Sarah Howe (St Hildas, QLD) 32.21
100m
Jasmine Greenwood (Woden Valley, ACT) 1:06.63
Kael Thompson (USC Spartans, QLD) 1:07.26
Montana Atkinson (USC Spartans, QLD) 1:08.00