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Kaylee McKeown Ends 2024 Aussie Open Championships Ranked #1 Across 5 Events

2024 AUSTRALIAN OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS

Olympic multi-gold medalist Kaylee McKeown ended her 2024 Australian Open Championships with a successful 4-for-4 gold medal campaign.

The 22-year-old Griffith superstar stole the spotlight in each of her races, topping the podium across the 50m/200m back and 200m/400m IM events.

These championships are considered an in-season meet as the Australian Olympic Trials aren’t on the calendar until June. That makes McKeown’s outings even more impressive as we look ahead to who will represent the green and gold in Paris at this summer’s Games.

As it stands right now, McKeown is ranked as the #1 swimmer across each of the aforementioned events, giving credence to the opinions that voice she is the best overall swimmer on the planet at the moment.

Let’s review what McKeown accomplished in her whirlwind of a meet.

  • 200 IM – 2:06.99, Australian & Oceanian Record, #1 in the world this season

2023-2024 LCM Women 200 IM

SummerCAN
MCINTOSH
08/03
2:06.56
2Kaylee
McKEOWN
AUS2:06.6306/10
3Kate
DOUGLASS
USA2:06.7906/22
4Alex
WALSH
USA2:07.4508/02
5 Sydney
PICKREM
CAN2:07.6805/19
View Top 31»
  • 400 IM – 4:08.22, Australian & Oceanian Record, #1 in the world this season

2023-2024 LCM Women 400 IM

SummerCAN
McINTOSH
05/16
4:24.34 WR
2Kaylee
MCKEOWN
AUS4:28.2204/18
3Katie
GRIMES
USA4:32.4504/13
4Freya
Colbert
GBR4:34.0104/04
5Anastasia
GORBENKO
ISR4:34.8706/01
View Top 31»
  • 50 Back – 27.07, All Comers Record; McKeown’s 26.86 World Record from the 2023 Budapest World Cup already ranked her #1 in the world this season

2023-2024 LCM Women 50 Back

KayleeAUS
McKEOWN
10/20
26.86 WR
2Mollie
O'CALLAGHAN
AUS27.1604/19
3 Kylie
MASSE
CAN27.2302/21
4Xueer
WANG
CHN27.3509/25
5Letian
WAN
CHN27.4109/25
View Top 31»
  • 100 Back – N/A, McKeown did not race the 100m back at this competition but already ranked #1 in the world with the 57.33 World Record from the 2023 Budapest World Cup

2023-2024 LCM Women 100 Back

ReganUSA
SMITH
06/18
57.13 WR
2Kaylee
McKEOWN
AUS57.33 07/30
3Katharine
BERKOFF
USA57.8306/17
4Mollie
O'CALLAGHAN
AUS57.8806/11
5Kylie
MASSE
CAN57.9405/15
View Top 31»
  • 200 Back – 2:03.84, 6th-fastest performance in history

2023-2024 LCM Women 200 Back

KayleeAUS
McKEOWN
06/13
2:03.30
2Regan
SMITH
USA2:03.9903/09
3 Kylie
MASSE
CAN2:05.5708/02
4Phoebe
BACON
USA2:05.6108/02
5Claire
CURZAN
USA2:05.7702/17
View Top 31»

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kevin
6 months ago

This is a major achievement from a high quality swimmer and she is not done yet wait for the real competion Aussie trials she will bust the bank

Yikes
6 months ago

Swimswam loves this pic of Kaylee. But it’s better than when they used to always use the pic of her spitting water.

Sub13
6 months ago

Gaslight. Gatekeep. Girl boss.

Kaylee is killing it. She has a chance to make history in Paris so I hope she’s able to produce her best there

Swimmerfan
6 months ago

Kaylee McKeown is without a doubt the best swimmer in the world today, regardless of what happens in the Olympics she will be the best swimmer in Australia.
Sometimes I think that more importance is given to free swimmers in their country, like MOC, who practically until now has not achieved the same as her teammates. And I do appreciate that MOC is a good swimmer but not at her level.

Last edited 6 months ago by Swimmerfan
Nick the biased aussie
Reply to  Swimmerfan
6 months ago

I don’t think it’s that there is more importance given to freestyle but there is more responsibility because of the relays that come along with freestyle. If MOC didn’t have so much relay responsibility we’d see her in more backstroke.

Facts
6 months ago

So glad she decided to peak this weekend

Sacre Bleu!
Reply to  Facts
6 months ago

Australian swimmers live rent free in your head.

Danny
Reply to  Facts
6 months ago

Hahaha wait till paris

Southerly Buster
Reply to  Facts
6 months ago

Kaylee is always at her peak. Including at the Olympics.

Yikes
Reply to  Facts
6 months ago

You must be new here. Kaylee swims fast all the time, which is fairly obvious if you pay any attention at all.

Sacre Bleu!
Reply to  Yikes
6 months ago

They aren’t new. They just hate Australia and Australian swimmers.

Sub13
Reply to  Facts
6 months ago

Hahaha the trolls are scared of Kaylee

Sacre Bleu!
6 months ago

No other swimmer, male or female, is even close to five #1.

She’s a tough cookie.

Breezeway
Reply to  Sacre Bleu!
6 months ago

And that’s why she should be #1 on top 100 women’s rankings.

Sacre Bleu!
Reply to  Breezeway
6 months ago

She *is* Swimswam’s female swimmer of 2023.

As for Swimswam’s top 100 of 2024, I agree with Swimswam. She’s a close second to Summer McIntosh as Summer has more individual events in Paris and thus has higher ceiling for individual gold.

Breezeway
Reply to  Sacre Bleu!
6 months ago

I’m a Summer fan but she is only a heavy favorite in 1 event, 4IM. Could she get gold in the 2fly, yes but she’s not a lock. In the 2IM and 2-4 free, she get gold or get shut out

phelpsfan
Reply to  Breezeway
6 months ago

She’s not getting shut out in the 400 free lol, that was just a bad race and a fluke. Even though there’s 4 other contenders in the 200IM, I don’t see it happening either, she’ll have three days of rest between finals.

Sub13
Reply to  phelpsfan
6 months ago

I agree she won’t get shut out in the 2IM but she doesn’t have any days of rest.

If she swims the 2IM, she will swim every single day between day 1 and day 8. If she skips 200 free she will have day 2 off but that’s it. Day 6 is 200 fly final and 200 free relay final. Day 7 is 200IM prelim and semi. Day 8 is 200IM final.

NotASwimmer
6 months ago

It’s about time the USA abandons SCY. Notice how Americans (besides Bobby Finke and Katie Ledecky) can’t handle anything above a 200m race and struggle to even close 50s, 100s, and 200s? It’s so simple – how can you match the endurance of those who train in meters when you train for races that are by definition shorter? That’s why McKeown will always have Smith’s number.

And don’t give me that crap about practicing turns and underwaters. Newsflash, that could be done in a SCM pool, which most SCY pools could be converted to.

Sacre Bleu!
Reply to  NotASwimmer
6 months ago

“That’s why McKeown will always have Smith’s number.”

Regan Smith has been training in 50m pool for the past 2 years.

usaswimerror
Reply to  NotASwimmer
6 months ago

Then why aren’t Aussie men crushing American men? Yes, something amazing is happening with Aussie women, but it can’t have anything to do with scy yard training.

Danny
Reply to  usaswimerror
6 months ago

They are in a lot

Winkelschleifer
Reply to  usaswimerror
6 months ago

Because they have less than 10% the Population of the US and accordingly a lot fewer swimmers and talents

Yikes
Reply to  NotASwimmer
6 months ago

Converting thousands of high schools and YMCAs etc to meters would not be cheap. I don’t disagree that doing yards is dumb (though it’s not THAT much different than 25m in terms of building endurance as you cite) but I don’t see thousands of local high schools using their withering budgets to add 3 meters onto their pools so they can be more relevant and competitive in international swimming, which, unfortunately, very few people here even care about.

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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