2023 Australian World Championship Trials: Day 2 Finals Live Recap (original) (raw)

2023 AUSTRALIAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TRIALS

We’re in for a high-octane set of finals on day two of the 2023 Australian World Championship Trials. The men’s 100m back, women’s 100m breast, men’s 200m free, women’s 100m back and men’s 50m fly are all on the agenda as racers aim to qualify for next month’s World Championships in Fukuoka.

We’ll see Kaylee McKeown carry her momentum from a 200m IM victory into the women’s 100m back against the likes of fellow Olympian Mollie O’Callaghan. 3rd-seeded Madi Wilson has dropped the event.

As for the 200m free, Kyle Chalmers claimed the top seed out of the heats, but he has pulled out of the final. That paves the way for 400m free silver medalist here Elijah Winnington to make a run at the gold. However, Chalmers’ morning time of 1:46.97 most likely laid his marker for a spot on the 4x200m free relay.

Cameron McEvoy continued to prove he’s coming back to form with a swift morning outing in the men’s 50m fly; however, Commonwealth Games racer Cody Simpson will look to beat him to the wall in the fast and furious race. Of note, Ben Armbruster, the All Comers Record holder was missing from this morning’s heats.

Stay tuned and refresh for live updates as the action unfolds.

MEN’S 100 BACKSTROKE – FINAL

GOLD – Isaac Cooper 53.46 SILVER – Bradley Woodward 53.85
BRONZE – Josh Edwards-Smith 54.52

19-year-old Isaac Cooper punched a winning result of 53.46 to take this men’s 100m back, clocking his fastest time in 15 months. This was after technical difficulties this morning which delayed the heats by about 30 minutes. Cooper said post-race he seems to have ‘a magnetism’ for technical difficulties.

In the 50m back at last year’s Short Course World Championships, Cooper was the top seed headed into finals and initially swam the fastest time in the final before a re-swim was called for due to a starting error. In the re-swim, Cooper placed 2nd.

Cooper’s lifetime best in this event rests at the 53.43 he notched in Tokyo so the teen was just .03 outside of that mark. Unfortunately, he needed to nail at least 53.00 to make the grade for Fukuoka. However, the Aussies will need a backstroke for the medley relay, therefore, Cooper will most likely get a nod.

Runner-up status went to Bradley Woodward who produced 53.85 while Josh Edwards-Smith bagged bronze in 54.52.

WOMEN’S 100 BREASTSTROKE – FINAL

GOLD – Abbey Harkin 1:07.20 SILVER – Mikayla Smith 1:07.94
BRONZE – Talara-Jade Dixon 1:08.64

Unfortunately for the Aussies, they’re still missing a lethal breaststroker to make a dent both individually and in the medley relay. As a refresher, Jenna Strauch and Chelsea Hodges both are not swimming here due to injuries.

Nevertheless, 25-year-old Abbey Harkin got to the wall first, producing a winning effort of 1:07.20. She represented one of two swimmers to dip under 1:08, joined by Griffith University’s Mikayla Smith who touched in 1:07.94. Talara-Jade Dixon wrapped up the top 3 in 1:08.64.

Harkin nabbed the Aussie national title in April in a time of 1:07.77 so she knocked over half a second off of that to take the gold here. However, Swimming Australia set the QT at a stiff 1:06.40. With Harkin owning a PB of 1:06.88, that cut would have taken a monster swim to meet.

This still leaves the question as to who could potentially swim the breaststroke leg on the women’s medley relay in Fukuoka and even in Paris. We took a look at a few of the options in our analysis here.

MEN’S 200 FREESTYLE – FINAL

GOLD – Kai Taylor 1:46.25 SILVER – Alex Graham 1:46.68
BRONZE – Tommy Neill 1:46.85

What a race from 19-year-old Kai Taylor. The St. Peters Western standout only made it into this final due to the fact Kyle Chalmers, the top seed out of the morning heats, pulled out of the race.

Taylor attacked the race from lane 8, leading from start to finish, opening in 51.56 and closing in 54.69, to grab the gold in a final time of 1:46.25. That sliced .40 off his best-ever performance of 1:46.65 which rendered him the Aussie national champion last April.

Taylor held off a field nipping at his heels, with Alex Graham snagging silver in 1:46.68 and Tommy Neill earning bronze in 1:46.85.

The remainder of the pack included last night’s 400m free silver medalist Elijah Winnington producing 4th place 1:46.85 and 18-year-old Flynn Southam clocking 1:47.11 for 5th. Brendon Smith, the 400m IM Olympic bronze medalist, was 6th in 1:47.20.

Post-race, Dean Boxall-trained Taylor said, “It feels really good. I was disappointed after this morning. Fortunately, Kyle pulled out. I stayed calm and did my thing.”

WOMEN’S 100 BACKSTROKE – FINAL

GOLD – Kaylee McKeown 57.50 SILVER – Mollie O’Callaghan 58.42
BRONZE – Iona Anderson 1:00.05

21-year-old Kaylee McKeown ripped the 3rd best 100m back performance of her life to hit a time of 57.50. That fell just .05 outside her own World Record of 57.45 produced at the 2021 Australian Olympic Trials.

McKeown opened in 28.27 and closed in 29.23 to bust out the 57.50 to easily qualify for the World Championships, becoming the #1 performer in the world in the process.

Kaylee McKeown‘s Top 5 LCM 100 Back Performances

  1. 57.45 2021
  2. 57.47 2020
  3. 57.50 2023
  4. 57.63 2021
  5. 57.84 2023

Olympic medalist Mollie O’Callaghan also nailed a super swim, registering a mark of 58.42 for silver here, making her way to Fukuoka in the process. That matched the exact time and personal best the St. Peters Western star logged for silver behind McKeown at this year’s Australian National Championships.

McKeown now ranks #1 in the world on the season while MOC checks in as the 3rd swiftest.

MEN’S 50 BUTTERFLY – FINAL

GOLD – Cameron McEvoy 23.07 SILVER – Shaun Champion 23.46
BRONZE – Matt Temple 23.47

29-year-old Cameron McEvoy posted his best time in 7 years en route to winning this men’s 50m fly.

The Somerville Aquatics ace scorched a mark of 23.07 to beat the field by just under half a second, with Shaun Champion putting up 23.46 for silver while Olympic finalist Matt Temple scored bronze in 23.47.

This swim bodes very well for McEvoy’s 50m freestyle, the event on which he says he is focusing for these Trials. Although he is also entered in the 100m free, he mentioned post-race that he will be focusing on that particular race next year.

In This Story

Cameron McEvoy
Cody Simpson
Kaylee McKeown
Kyle Chalmers
Mollie O'Callaghan

About Retta Race

Former Masters swimmer and coach Loretta (Retta) thrives on a non-stop but productive schedule. Nowadays, that includes having earned her MBA while working full-time in IT while owning French 75 Boutique while also providing swimming insight for BBC.

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