World Aquatics Swimming World Cup 2023 Athens Day 1 Results: Kaylee McKeown clocks second-fastest 50m backstroke time in history

Day one of the Athens Swimming World Cup kicked off on the 13th of October, and there was a lot of action to look forward to. There were a total of eleven finals taking place yesterday, with multiple records being made.

Getting things started was the women's 400m freestyle finals where Erika Fairweather was the dominant force. The New Zealander matched her Swimming World Cup record time of 4:01.9, as Lani Pallister and Claire Weinstein took silver and bronze.

Meanwhile, in the men's 400m relay, Danas Rapsys took the win with a lead of nearly a second. Joining him on the podium were America's Kieran Smith and Norway's Henrik Christiansen.

Up next was the women's 50m backstroke finals. Australian Kaylee McKeown stunned audiences at the Athens Swimming World Cup as she clocked a 27.02, setting a new personal best and the second-fastest time in history after China's Liu Zhiang.

In the men's 200m backstroke final, South Africa's Pieter Coetze took the top step of the podium with a time of 1:56.32, his second-fastest swim. Italy's Thomas Ceccon finished second, while Roman Mityukov had to settle for bronze.

China's Zhang Yufei, who has been having a stellar year so far, clinched gold in the Women's 200m butterfly at the Athens Swimming World Cup. Yufei raced to a 2:06.73 finish, marking a season-best for herself. American Katie Grimes and Japanese Ageha Tanigawa took home silver and bronze.

Coming to the men's 100m butterfly, it was a close race, but Matthew Sates stormed to gold with a 51.82. Behind him, America's Michael Andrew and Australia's Cody Simpson shared the silver as they both finished with a 51.92.

In the women's 200m breaststroke final at the Athens Swimming World Cup, Tes Schouten and Jenna Strauch replicated their 1-2 finish in Berlin. Dane Thea Blomsterberg came in third.

At the men's 100m backstroke, Qin Haiyang, who has been a dominating presence this whole year, took the win. In second place was Nik Fink after making a remarkable comeback, and the third position went to two-time Olympic silver medalist Arno Kamminga.

The podium for the women's 50m freestyle race at the Athens Swimming World Cup was a replica of the one from Berlin earlier this month. Sarah Sjöström took gold, as Car Campbell and Torri Huske finished with the silver and bronze.

After his silver in the men's 100m butterfly, Michael Andrew was back in action at the men's 50m freestyle. This time he finished first with a 21.96, as Isaac Cooper and Dylan Carter settled for second and third place.

Wrapping up the day at the Athens Swimming World Cup was the women's 4x100m medley relay. The race saw Australia face off against Greek club swimmers, but it was eventually the McKeown-led Australia that cruised to gold.

Athens Swimming World Cup: Full Finals Results

This is what the results looked like for day one of the Athens Swimming World Cup.

Women's 400m Freestyle

1. Erika Fairweather

2. Lani Pallister

3. Claire Weinstein

4. Waka Kobori

5. Ajna Kesely

6. Boglarka Kapas

7. Caitlin Deans

8. Valentine Dumont

Men's 400m Freestyle

1. Danas Rapsys

2. Kieran Smith

3. Henrik Christiansen

4. Dimitrios Markos

5. Brendon Smith

6. Kaito Tabuchi

7. Balazs Hollo

8. Zac Reid

Women's 50m Backstroke

1. Kaylee McKeown

2. Ingrid Wilm

3. Kylie Masse

4. Margaret Nacneil

5. Torri Huske

6. Kira Toussaint

7. Maaike de Waard

8. Lousie Hansson

Men's 200m Backstroke

1. Pieter Coetze

2. Thomas Ceccon

3. Roman Mityukov

4. Apostolos Siskos

5. Kane Follows

6. Ryosuke Irie

7. Joshua Edwards-Smith

8. Mitchell Larkin

Women's 200m Butterfly

1. Zhang Yufei

2. Katie Grimes

3. Ageha Tanigawa

4. Claire Weinstein

5. Chiho Mizuguchi

6. Ana Monteiro

7. Georgia Damasioti

8. Valentine Dumont

Men's 100m Butterfly

1. Matthew Sates

2. Michael Andrew

2. Cody Simpson

4. Ben Armbruster

5. Chad le Clos

6. Trenton Julian

7. Shaun Champion

8. Naoki Mizunuma

Women's 200m Breaststroke

1. Tes Schrouten

2. Jenna Strauch

3. Thea Blomsterberg

4. Sydney Pickrem

5. Sophie Hansson

6. Nikoleta Trnikova

7. Ana Blazevic

8. Mikayla Smith

Men's 100m Breaststroke

1. Haiyang Qin

2. Nic Fink

3. Arno Kamminga

4. Nicolo Martinenghi

5. Andrius Sidlauskas

6. Adam Peaty

7. Caspar Corbeau

8. Zhihao Dong

Women's 50m Freestyle

1. Sarah Sjoestroem

2. Cate Campbell

3. Torri Huske

4. Bronte Campbell

5. Margaret Macneil

6. Kim Busch

7. Marrit Steenbergen

8. Petra Senanszky

Men's 50m Freestyle

1. Michael Andrew

2. Isaac Cooper

3. Dylan Carter

4. Szebasztian Szabo

5. Shinri Shioura

6. Kenzo Simons

7. Nicholas Lia

8. Stan Pijnenburg

Women's 4x100m Medley Relay

1. Australia (Kaylee McKeown, Jenna Strauch, Alexandria Perkins, Cate Campbell)

2. Club Swimmers (Ioanna Pazaiti, Areti Zarmbouti, Styliani Rota, Eygenia Lora Ferra)