Victorian Championships Night Two Finals: Olympic Golden Girls Kaylee McKeown and Emma McKeonLead Griffith Uni Domination
There must be something in the water at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre with Griffith University top guns Emma McKeon, Kaylee McKeown, Lani Pallister and Cody Simpson dominating night two of the Victorian State Championships, at the Melbourne Sports And Aquatic Centre
Amongst a host of world class highlights, came in the women’s 100m backstroke final with Olympic champion and world record holder McKeown powering home in a world best number one time of 58.19.
BACK TO BUSINESS: Kaylee McKeown launches her Paris initiative in Melbourne. Photo Courtesy Con Chronis (Swimming Victoria).
Although 0.86 outside her own world mark set last year, it was a time fast enough to have won this year’s recent World Championship in Doha – with the competitive McKeown determined to send a clear message to the world that she means business in the 2024 Olympic year.
And making it even more impressive, McKeown’s performance came less than 30 minutes after she had clocked a personal best time of 4:06.85 to finish second to World Short Course champion Lani Pallister (4:03.03) in the 400m freestyle final.
Meanwhile, another dominant force, five-time Olympic champion Emma McKeon also continued her outstanding form from night one with the 29-year-old powering away from the field to record a comfortable victory in the 100m butterfly in 56.40 – after her 53.00 to win the 100m freestyle on the opening night.
ALL SMILES: Emma McKeon dominant at Victorian States.
McKeon was through in 26.34 and home in 30.06 – a faster second 50 than any finalist at this year’s World’s in Doha and her time would have seen her finish second to Germany’s Angelina Kohler, who won the title in 56.28.
And while McKeon has always been competitive in the 100m butterfly -her only major international gold came back in 2018 at the Commonwealth Games.
She won Olympic bronze in Tokyo in 2021 after World Championship silver in Budapest in 2017 and bronze in Fukuoka in 2019.
But McKeon, looking as lean and happy as ever, captured the 50m freestyle in 24.68 later in the night while Paris distance freestyle hope Lani Pallister was on song in the women’s 400m freestyle final.
FREESTYLER: Lani Pallister dominant in 400m freestyle. Photo Courtesy Con Chronis (Swimming Victoria).
Pallister clocking 4:03.03 (58:15; 1:59.58; 3:01.62) – just a second outside her personal best but a time her and coach Michael Bohl will put down as a serious marker as they plan towards the Olympic Trials in June.
She sits second on the Australian All-time list behind world record holder and “Race of the Century” winner from last year’s World Championships, Ariarne Titmus (3:55.38) and knows sub-four minutes is where she has to become the Trials meet in Brisbane.
The time would have placed her in fifth at this year’s World’s won by New Zealand’s Erica Fairweather in 3:59.44.
And in a rare appearance over 400m freestyle, the world’s premier female backstroker, McKeown clocked her personal best time of 4:06.85 – encouraging signs for whatever program she decides on in the future – and comes after her 1:07.01 to win last night’s 100m breaststroke final and her Victorian All-Comers record of 58.19 in the 100m backstroke.
BLOCKED IN: Cody Simpson ready to race at MSAC. Photo Courtesy Con Chronis (Swimming Victoria).
Meanwhile 27-year-old Olympic hopeful Cody Simpson won a blanket finish to snatch victory in the 50m butterfly, taking the win in 24.11 from Jack Carr (St Andrews, QLD) 24.15 and Ashton Brinkworth (UWA West Coast, WA) 24.43.
It followed Simpson’s second place finish to Commonwealth Games teammate Will Yang (SOSC, NSW) in the 100m freestyle in 49.31 to Yang’s 48.52 on night one.
