Mollie O’Callaghan and Kaylee McKeown made a remarkable start to Australia’s swimming era following Ariarne Titmus’ retirement by setting new short course world records at the World Cup event in Westmont, Illinois.
Olympic 200-meter freestyle champion O’Callaghan achieved a time of 1:49.77 to secure victory in the same event on Saturday, surpassing the previous record of 1:50.31 held by Siobhan Haughey of Hong Kong in 2021.
In another impressive feat, McKeown triumphed in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:57.87 on the meet’s final day, outpacing her fierce competitor Regan Smith and erasing Smith’s previous best of 1:58.04 set at the short course world championships in December.
This victory marked a turnaround for McKeown, who was defeated by Smith in the 100 backstroke event on Saturday, where Smith also equaled her own short course world record of 54.02 seconds.
Despite typically allowing Smith to take an early lead before catching up, McKeown led from the start in the 200 backstroke and successfully maintained her position to the finish line.
Reflecting on her performance, the 24-year-old McKeown, a double Olympic gold medalist in the backstroke events, acknowledged the challenge posed by Smith and expressed her satisfaction with her race strategy.
McKeown currently holds both the short and long course world records in the 200 backstroke, while Smith holds the records in the 100 backstroke.
These outstanding achievements by the Australian swimmers come shortly after Ariarne Titmus, the former Olympic 400 freestyle champion, unexpectedly announced her retirement at the age of 25.
Additionally, Kate Douglass of the United States clinched a new world record (50.19) in the 100 freestyle, surpassing Cate Campbell’s previous best of 50.25 set in 2017. This latest achievement marks Douglass’s third short course world record, having previously set records in the 200 individual medley and 200 breaststroke.
Looking ahead, the next and final leg of the World Cup series is set to kick off in Toronto on Thursday.
