Kaylee McKeown made a splash in the Paris La Défense Arena. The Paris Summer Games might be done and dusted. However, after witnessing the swimmer set a new Olympic record and win five Olympic medals, fans still wanted to see more of her. But they didn’t have to wait for too long. The 2024 Australian Short Course Championships are currently underway, and the 23-year-old left the swimming community by contesting in the 100m backstroke on Day 1.

The Olympian returned to the SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre on Day 3 for the 50m backstroke. With her sights set on the gold, the swimmer scorched to the other end of the pool in a lifetime best of 25.40 seconds. This time, she broke the Australian national record set by Olympic champion Mollie O’Callaghan’s 25.61 at the 2022 Short Course World Championships. However, she missed the world record by a whisker—0.15 seconds.

Trailing behind Kaylee McKeown were Iona Anderson and Poppy Stephen, who clocked 26.08 and 27.08 on the clock. However, the 23-year-old’s quickest mark before this was at the 2020 Queensland Virtual Short Course, where she clocked 26.00 seconds. The swimmer reiterated how this is surprising: “I haven’t been training a whole lot, so I didn’t have any expectation on myself.”

But the last time she contested in the Short Course was in the 2022 World Championships in Melbourne. However, she did enjoy the experience. “But I have really enjoyed this meet. I may pull up sore tomorrow though,” the 9x Olympic medalist confessed. But after her stellar performance at the 2024 Australian Short Course Championships, the 23-year-old now holds the #2 position on the all-time list. She’s trailing behind Maggie MacNeil, who still has the world record of 25.25 seconds. But how did she fair on day 1 of the championships? 

Kaylee McKeown’s world record-breaking performance

The swimmer surprised the world on September 24 by contesting in the 2024 Australian Short Course Championships held outside Adelaide. However, that wasn’t the only shocking bit. The swimmer set an Olympic record of 2:03:73 seconds in the 200m back at the French capital. But she continued the momentum in the championships by shattering another record in the 100m.

Kaylee McKeown touched the other end of the pool in a blistering 54.56 seconds. This shattered Minna Atherton’s previous record of 54.89 seconds in 2019. Fans were beside themselves witnessing her stellar show of skills. While it seems that the swimmer is casually racking up records every time she’s in the pool, the Olympian wasn’t even sure she’d compete in the championships.

“I had some solid down time after the Olympics and only decided to do the Short Course at the last minute.“ The swimmer opened up about her experience in the French capital. “It’s been great… the Olympics has been a huge whirlwind… and something I never thought I would be able to achieve.” Nothing could beat the feeling of standing on the top step of the podium. 

But Kaylee McKeown revealed the other side of the coin. “People don’t realize just how much of a high it is and then to come back down again.” Dealing with the aftereffects of the Olympics hasn’t been easy on her. However, the championships were a welcome change. “It’s been fun and very humbling to go to training and not make it through some sessions.” Even though she couldn’t claim another touchdown, watching her make a splash has been invigorating.