A fiery Despite swimming the fourth-fastest 400-meter medley in history on Thursday, Kaylee McKeown declared she will not be competing in the event in Paris in 2024. At the Australian championships on the Gold Coast, the 22-year-old showed off her versatility by hitting the wall in 4 minutes, 28.22 seconds. She currently holds world records in all three backstroke divisions.
In addition to being almost six seconds faster than anyone else this year, it destroyed the Australian record set by Stephanie Rice at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Only Summer McIntosh of Canada and Katinka Hosszu of Hungary have accelerated.
It happened the day before when McKeown broke Rice’s long-standing Australian record by becoming just the fifth woman to finish the 200-meter medley in under 2:07. Though she indicated the 400 would not be on her Paris itinerary despite being a serious medal contender, the 200 is scheduled, along with the backstroke events.