Australian Olympic champion Kaylee McKeown breaks world brief course file

Australia’s five-time Olympic gold medallist Kaylee McKeown has set a world brief course file within the ladies’s 200 metres backstroke.

McKeown swam 1 minute, 57.87 seconds on the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup in Westmont, Illinois on Monday AEDT.

She dipped underneath American rival Regan Smith’s earlier world file mark of 1:58.04.

McKeown’s effort got here a day after fellow Australian Mollie O’Callaghan broke the ladies’s world 200m freestyle file on the similar meet.

In Monday’s last, McKeown edged out Smith (1:57.91), who had defeated the Queenslander within the 100m backstroke decider on Sunday.

Smith equalled her world file of 54.02 in profitable the 100m occasion.

“I’ve had a pretty shocking week so far,” McKeown stated.

“I wanted to see what I could do tonight. Regan pushed me … all the way. I wanted to go out hard and hold on.

“It’s not one thing that I’m used to doing.”

McKeown had swum 55.04 in finishing second to Smith in the 100m backstroke.

She relegated Smith to second place in the 100m and 200m backstroke finals at the World Aquatics Championships (long course) in Singapore earlier this year.

O’Callaghan, the reigning Olympic and world champion (long course) in the women’s 200m freestyle, swam 1:49.77 to break the world record on Sunday.

She became the first woman to swim under 1:50 for the 200m freestyle.

In the final of the women’s 100m freestyle on Monday, O’Callaghan could not catch American star Kate Douglass, who broke the short course world record held for eight years by Australia’s Cate Campbell.

Douglass won in 50.19 — 0.06 inside Campbell’s 2017 time — with O’Callaghan finishing second in 51.44.

ABC/AAP