2023 NEW SOUTH WALES STATE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Friday, March 10th – Sunday, March 12th
- Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Center (SOPAC)
- LCM (50m)
- Meet Site
- SwimSwam Preview
- Start List
- Day 1 Recap
- Results – Meet Mobile: 2023 NSW State Open Championships
21-year-old Kaylee McKeown produced the fastest 200m backstroke time in history on day one of the New South Wales State Open Championships.
The multi-Olympic gold medalist touched the wall in an eye-popping 2:03.14 to slice .21 off of the previous WR mark of 2:03.35 American Regan Smith put on the books during the semi-finals at the 2019 World Championships.
You can read more about McKeown’s massive swim here.
On day two of the NSW Championships, McKeown followed up with a 57.84 stunner in the 100m back, overtaking the season’s ranking crown from Smith.
Speaking to NSW Swimming on day 2 at SOPAC, McKeown conveyed her thoughts on American Smith, saying that “Regan is an unbelievable athlete and only has room for improvement.
“Seeing the times she puts up is nerve-racking.”
McKeown also told The Advertiser yesterday regarding Smith, “I knew it was going to be a new level heading into the Olympics and I think it’s great seeing Regan Smith doing all her double ups – it’s scary and it’s daunting to me looking when you are looking at a competitor or competitors that fierce – even Molly O’Callaghan in Australia – the backstroke depth is definitely coming back at that top level so it’s exciting.”
The pair now rank 1-2 in the world in the 100m backstroke and 200m backstroke events on the season.
2022-2023 LCM Women 100 Back
McKeown
57.50
| 2 | Regan Smith | USA | 57.71 | 06/30 |
| 3 | Katharine Berkoff | USA | 58.01 | 06/30 |
| 4 | Mollie O'Callaghan | AUS | 58.42 | 06/14 |
| 5 | Claire Curzan | USA | 58.59 | 06/30 |
2022-2023 LCM Women 200 Back
McKeown
WR 2:03.14
| 2 | Regan SMITH | USA | 2:03.80 | 06/28 |
| 3 | Rhyan White | USA | 2:05.77 | 06/28 |
| 4 | Claire Curzan | USA | 2:06.35 | 06/28 |
| 5 | Kennedy Noble | USA | 2:06.54 | 06/28 |
It’s interesting to see that her and Titmus place such pressure on their races with Smith & Ledecky. McKeown and Titmus have handled it just fine when they’ve gone head to head, but they’re definitely more focused on those matchups/keep track of what they’re up to. Rivalries definitely make our sport more exciting, so I hope they can continue to keep their counterparts motivated and hungry.
I love how they’re expressive and not like most American swimmers “I just try to swim my best”, and both are very respectful of the other top swimmers.
It’s exciting for fans.
Aussies tend to be pretty candid. If they see someone as a front runner they’re just going to say it instead of dancing around it.
Also humility is a pretty big part of Aussie culture so that probably explains it too. If an Aussie swimmer was to say “wow I just broke a WR so I’m the best now” that would not be well received. Painting someone else as the one to beat also takes a bit of pressure off.
She’s always so humble.
Does Smith ever mention McKeown in her interviews? Ledecky never really mentions Titmus which is weird. I don’t really get that.
I don’t know if I’ve heard Regan talk about Kaylee in interviews but Kaylee did say that Regan messaged her after she broke the 100 WR at Tokyo trials which is nice
That’s American swimmers in general.
They are PR trained and always come up with boring interviews:
“I try to swim my best”
“I have fun”
And similar boring PR speak
After the whole “smash them like guitars” saga, I don’t really blame the Americans for giving out PR answers.
I just try to stay in my own lane during races and focus on my training 🤗
We all know she’s just being humble
Love to see competitors deeply respect each other
They know what it takes to get to that level, so it’s hard from them to not respect their peers.
It’s honestly pretty heartwarming to see how positive some rivalries are after some of the messy ones of the past
Always loved the Dressell/Chalmers respect….wish they had tied in Tokyo!
I miss Fede throwing hands with everybody 🙁
I miss Fede vs Manadou drama!
That was entertaining lol
Lol you should follow women’s tennis if you want drama.
The WTA in the 90s was vicious