McKeown's world mark will help fulfil late dad's wish

ADELAIDE • Teenager Kaylee McKeown smashed the women's 100m backstroke world record yesterday, touching home in 57.45 seconds at the Australian Olympic trials in Adelaide and dedicating it to her father who died last year.

The 19-year-old, who has been in blistering form this year, narrowly missed out on the mark last month after clocking 57.63sec at the Sydney Open.

McKeown was not going to be denied in Adelaide as she sensationally sealed her first Olympic qualifying berth, sweeping past American rival Regan Smith's previous world's best of 57.57sec, set at the 2019 world meet. She turned in 28.10sec and was never under threat as she powered to the finish.

Veteran Emily Seebohm hit the wall second in 58.59sec to also book her place in Tokyo in what will be her fourth Games, making the 29-year-old just the second Australian swimmer to do so after three-time Olympic gold medallist Leisel Jones.

"I just can't believe it. I just wanted to come in tonight and blow out the cobwebs," McKeown, who became the fourth different woman to break the 100m back mark since July 2017, said poolside with tears in her eyes.

"It's been a huge year for me and my family. It's been 10 months since my dad passed today. So with that behind me and doing that I think he would be very proud."

Earlier this year, McKeown had told the Sydney Morning Herald she wanted to fulfil her father's dream of seeing her compete in Tokyo.

"That's my biggest goal, to tick that box off for him. He always wanted to see that and you never know what they are doing up above; whether or not he can see that," she said. "It's always in the back of my mind. That's something he wanted to see us achieve.

"We've been revving up the whole year, so to finally get myself onto that Olympic team is a dream come true, it really is."

McKeown, whose father Sholto died last year of brain cancer aged just 53, is shaping up to be a serious multiple gold-medal contender in Japan.

Not only is she expected to also qualify in the 200m backstroke, having recently set the fourth quickest time in history, but she also has her eyes set on Smith's other record - 2min 3.35sec - set two years ago in Gwangju, South Korea.

The 200m individual medley will be another event where she will be a major contender after clocking 2:08.23 in December, the world's best time this season.

Australia won 10 medals in the pool at the 2016 Games in Rio, like in London four years earlier, but well down on the 20 they clinched in Beijing in 2008.

Smith will attempt to wrest back the record at the US Olympic swimming trials in Omaha, Nebraska this week, with other big names including Nathan Adrian, Simone Manuel, Katie Ledecky and Caeleb Dressel also seeking to punch their tickets to Tokyo.

The top two finishers per individual event will earn a Games berth, with the trials ending on Sunday.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE