By Ian Ransom
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – World record holder Kaylee McKeown has turned heads for her blistering backstroke times but could end up swimming the breaststroke at next month’s world championships to help Australia’s bid for gold in the medley relay.
Australia are currently light on breaststroke options for Fukuoka, with top contenders Jenna Strauch and Chelsea Hodges sidelined with injuries.
McKeown, the Olympic 100m and 200m backstroke champion, would be a shoo-in for the backstroke leg of the medley but her breaststroke times have given head coach Rohan Taylor food for thought.
The improvement in 100m freestyle world champion Mollie O’Callaghan’s backstroke has also added to Australia’s “good” selection headache.
“I think all options are on the table, absolutely,” Taylor told reporters at Australia’s world championship trials in Melbourne on Thursday.
“Kaylee obviously has put a time down in the 100 breaststroke, which is at the moment the quickest we’ve seen this season.
“So we have to consider that. And obviously Mollie with her backstroke, that she’s probably third in the world in rankings.
“So we’re lucky there. So I do have some options, but that will all kind of play out.”
McKeown has been in fine form at world trials this week, posting a scintillating time of 57.50 seconds in the 100m backstroke on Wednesday, the third-fastest mark of all-time and just 0.05 seconds short of her world record (57.45) set in 2021.
It follows the 21-year-old’s world record in the 200m backstroke at the New South Wales State Open championships in Sydney in March, which augurs well for her bid for back-to-back world 200m backstroke titles at Fukuoka, after winning in Budapest last year.
As eye-catching as the times have been, Taylor said McKeown was not trying to make a statement to rivals in the lead-up to the worlds.
“I think it’s more about her just trying to get the best out of herself,” he said.
“To me it’s not like she’s trying to prove to other people out in the world that she’s this good.
“She just goes about her business and it’s fun to watch.”
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
