Kaylee McKeown breaks yet another world record weeks after taking the 100m backstroke gold at Paris Olympics

Kaylee McKeown broke the short-course 100m backstroke world record, weeks after her brilliant Paris Olympics campaign. The Australian swimmer surpassed the five-year-old record set by her compatriot Minna Atherton in 2019.

At the Australian Short Course Championships on Thursday, 26 September, McKeown dominated the SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre to win the short-course 100m backstroke title with a new world record time of 54.56 seconds. With this, the 23-year-old shattered Atherton's world record of 54.89s, which she set during the 2019 International Swimming League in Budapest.

Kaylee McKeown's stunning performance came on the heels of a remarkable Paris Olympics campaign where she medaled in every event she entered. The Redcliffe native defended both her individual titles in 100m and 200m backstroke while setting a new Olympic record in the latter category. In addition, she also earned two bronze medals in the 200m individual medley relay and the mixed 4x100m medley relay, along with a silver in the 4x100m medley relay.

Kyle Sockwell, the founder of Sockwell Swim Club, reported the news on his X handle (formerly Twitter) with the caption:

"NEW WORLD RECORD. Kaylee McKeown decided it was time for swimming to be alllllllllll the way back and absolutely SMASHED the SCM 100 backstroke WR with a 54.56."

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"I was going a bit stir crazy, sitting at home" - Kaylee McKeown reflects on her record-breaking feat

Kaylee McKeown pictured at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 (Image via Getty)

Kaylee McKeown said that she was feeling restless at home and wanted to return to training, adding that she was satisfied with her progress with the hard work she was putting into training. She told Swimming Australia (as quoted by NBC Sports):

"I was going a bit stir crazy, sitting at home, so decided to jump back in two and a bit weeks ago, and just increasing the sessions,” she said. “I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but we’re doing some pretty incredible stuff at training," McKeown said.

With her incredible swimming display at the Australian Short Course Championships, McKeown now holds world records in both the 50m and 200m backstroke long course and the 100m and 200m backstroke short course.

In addition, she became the first Australian swimmer and second overall to simultaneously hold all three long-course backstroke world records, joining the ranks of Lenny Krayzelburg of the United States in achieving this feat.