McKeown Hits 58.19 100 Back, McKeon 56.40 100 Fly On Day 2 Of Vic Open

By Retta Race on SwimSwam

2024 VICTORIAN OPEN LONG COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Friday, February 23rd – Sunday, February 25th
• Melbourne Sports Centres Outdoor Pool (MSAC)
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• SwimSwam Preview
• Day 1 Recap
• Live Results
• Livestream

Day two of the 2024 Victorian Open Championships took place today in Melbourne with 22-year-old Kaylee McKeown putting up additional impressive performances.

Already on day one the Olympic champion took gold in the women’s 100m breast (1:07.01) and silver in the 100m free (54.35). This evening, the Griffith star tried the 400m free and her bread-and-butter 100m back on for size.

In the 4free, McKeown stopped the clock in a time of 4:06.85 as the runner-up. That checked in as a big-time personal best, erasing her previous PB of 4:10.67 notched in 2020.

Topping the event’s podium was 21-year-old Lani Pallister who posted a solid in-season 4:03.03. That represented the 6th-fastest time of the relay world champion’s career.

As for McKeown, she later ripped a swift 58.19 as the sole 100m backstroke competitor to get under the 1:00 threshold.

Opening in 28.72 and closing in 29.47, McKeown’s effort was an impressive in-season follow-up to the 57.33 World Record she posted while racing the event on the 2023 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup circuit.

Her time this evening would have taken the gold at this year’s World Championships in Doha, sneaking ahead of American Claire Curzan‘s 58.29 podium topper.

Also in the water tonight was Emma McKeon, Australia’s most decorated Olympian of all time, along with her visiting teammate Rikako Ikee of Japan.

Last night we saw Ikee get the better of McKeon in the 50m fly, but it was McKeon’s time to shine on night 2 in the 100m sprint.

29-year-old McKeon stopped the clock in a rapid result of 56.40, exactly 2 seconds ahead of Ikee’s silver medal-worthy 58.40.

McKeon opened in 26.34 and closed in 30.06 to check in as the 4th-quickest performer in the world on the season.

McKeon and Ikee battled yet again later on in the session as the speedsters dove in for the women’s 50m free final.

McKeon once again raced her way to the top of the podium, turning in a time of 24.68. Ikee was just under a second behind in 25.65 while New Zealand’s Gabi Fa’amausili rounded out the top 3 finishers in 25.68.

Additional Day 2 Winners

• William Petric won the men’s 200m IM gold in a time of 2:00.22 for the 5th-best performance of the Nunawading swimmer’s career.
• The men’s 50m fly saw Cody Simpson get it done for gold in 24.11, just .04 ahead of Jack Carr‘s 24.16. Simpson owns a lifetime best of 23.48 from last year’s World Championships Trials.
• 26-year-old Kane Follows earned the top prize in the men’s 200m back in 1:58.59.
• Tara Kinder got to the wall first in the women’s 200m breast, clocking a result of 2:27.52 as the sole competitor under 2:30.
• Haig Buckingham produced a winning effort of 1:00.78 to grab the men’s 100m breast gold while Joshua Yong was a hair behind in 1:00.80.
• Just two men dipped under the 1:50 threshold in the 200m free, as Cameron Bladen produced 1:49.24 to William Yang‘s 1:49.59 in the final.

SwimSwam: McKeown Hits 58.19 100 Back, McKeon 56.40 100 Fly On Day 2 Of Vic Open