Mollie O’Callaghan and Kaylee McKeown made a remarkable start to Australia’s era after Ariarne Titmus by setting new short course world records at the World Cup event in Westmont, Illinois. O’Callaghan, the Olympic 200-meter freestyle champion, outpaced the competition with a time of 1:49.77 in the same event, surpassing the previous record of 1:50.31 held by Siobhan Haughey of Hong Kong in 2021.
In a thrilling showdown on the final night of the meet, McKeown triumphed in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:57.87, narrowly defeating her fierce rival Regan Smith and breaking Smith’s previous record of 1:58.04 set at the short course world championships in December. McKeown’s strategic change from trailing to leading early in the race proved successful as she maintained her position to the finish line.
Expressing her determination, 24-year-old McKeown, a double Olympic backstroke gold medalist, shared, “I wanted to see what I could do tonight. Regan pushed me through all the way. I wanted to go out hard and hold on; it’s not something that I’m used to doing.” McKeown currently holds both the short and long course 200 backstroke world records, while Smith dominates the 100 backstroke records.
These outstanding achievements by the Australian swimmers came shortly after Ariarne Titmus, the former Olympic 400 freestyle champion, surprisingly announced her retirement from competitive swimming at the age of 25. Adding to the record-breaking spree, Kate Douglass of the United States set a new world record of 50.19 in the 100 freestyle, surpassing Cate Campbell’s previous best of 50.25 from 2017. Douglass, renowned for her versatility, now holds three short course world records after previously setting records in the 200 individual medley and 200 breaststroke events.
Looking ahead, the third and final leg of the World Cup series is set to kick off in Toronto starting this Thursday.
