World has yet to see the best of Kaylee McKeown, says Matt Welsh
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Kaylee McKeown of Australia at the 2023 Australian World Championship trials in Melbourne, on June 14, 2023.
PHOTO: AFP
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MELBOURNE – Australia’s Kaylee McKeown has already set world records and bagged four Olympic medals but the Queensland juggernaut’s best is yet to come, says five-time world champion Matt Welsh.
After snatching the 200m backstroke world record in March, the 21-year-old McKeown has been in ominous form in the lead-up to swimming’s World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, in July.
She was 0.05 seconds short of her 100m backstroke world record (57.45sec) at the World Championship trials in Melbourne on Wednesday, a day after a dominant win in the 200m individual medley (IM).
Welsh, who won a backstroke title at the 2001 World Championships, was impressed by McKeown at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, seeing a rising talent who could one day be counted among the greats of Australian swimming.
“It’s absolutely incredible. She’s 21, she’s got so much more to give,” he told Reuters.
“She’s mentally and physically strong. Just walking on the pool deck you can see the strength in her shoulders and arms. But in the race, she stays calm. She’s able to pace things really well.
“We haven’t seen the best from her yet but we’ve seen incredible things already.”
Olympic 100m and 200m backstroke champion McKeown has also shot into contention for the 200m IM, after being pipped to gold by American Alexandra Walsh at the 2022 World Championships in Budapest.
Her versatility means she could also help Australia’s bid for the relay medley title in Japan by swimming the breaststroke leg.
The Australians are light on breaststroke options, with top contenders Jenna Strauch and Chelsea Hodges sidelined with injuries.
The team will also use Fukuoka as a yardstick to measure progress in the lead-up to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Expectations are high after they took an Australian record 21 medals, including nine golds, at the Tokyo Games, second only to the United States’ haul of 30 medals.
Teenagers have made their mark at the trials, including 19-year-old Mollie O’Callaghan, who upset Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus to win the 200m free on Thursday with a year’s best time of 1min 53.83sec.
Sam Short, also 19, impressed with a year-best 7:40.39 to win the men’s 800m free and qualify for Fukuoka.
“Depth has usually been our challenge, especially compared to the United States, but we have some amazing peaks (of performance) in our stable of swimmers,” added Welsh. REUTERS
