Australian Swimming Championships 2024: Olympic Games tune-up - news, results, reaction

Kaylee McKeown has put her Olympic rivals on notice with a blistering performance in the 200m individual medley, in which she set a new Australian record on her way to victory.

Kaylee McKeown breaks the Australian Record in the Womens 200m IM at the Australian Open Championships at the Gold Coast. Picture: Delly Carr

If Kaylee McKeown was motivated by money, she would be a tennis player not a swimmer.

Luckily for Australia and their Olympic medal tally, swimming is all that McKeown says she is good at - a fact she duly reminded the world on Wednesday night with a record-breaking 200m medley swim in heavy training that stamped her as a triple individual gold medal contender for the Paris Olympics in 100 days.

While the WTA tour may not handle the acid-tongued Olympic champion, renowned for her Tokyo f-bomb and “shit happens” moment at the world titles last year when she was disqualified in this same event, the 22-year-old is primed to dominate the Paris pool.

The reigning 100m and 200m backstroke Olympic champion confirmed she will definitely add the 200m medley to her repertoire in Paris after breaking Stephanie Rice’s 12-year-old national record at the Australian Open championships on the Gold Coast on Wednesday night.

Kaylee McKeown broke the Australian Record in the Womens 200m IM at the Australian Open Championships at the Gold Coast. Picture: Delly Carr

The world has waited to see exactly what McKeown could produce in a medley after she was disqualified at the world titles last year, but the fact she delivered it in full training with a time of 2:06.99 is significant and will shock her main rivals.

She is just the fifth woman in history to break the 2:07 barrier and the fastest in the world this year.

The only woman to swim faster since the Rio Olympics is Canadian Summer McIntosh, but McKeown knows she can go faster and if she can live up to her potential, she could join Shane Gould as the only Australians in Olympic history to win three individual gold medals at a single Games.

“I honestly would get bored if I didn’t have challenges put in front of me,” she said.

“I think it’s the best thing to really challenge myself all the time.

“I’m looking at doing the backstroke and obviously the 200 medley. But anything can change between here and there as well.

“It would be awesome to be able to jump up and be with the relays as well but unfortunately I can’t do that with the program.”

McKeown pocketed over $400,000 in prize money after dominating last year’s world titles, but said she was not inspired by lining her pockets in her swimming career despite the recent decision by world athletics to award gold medal winners $50,000 in Paris.

Kaylee McKeown sent an ominous message to her Olympics rivals at the Gold Coast. Picture: Delly Carr

“I’m not in the sport for money,” she said.

“Anything that I get is a bonus of that.

“I would be a tennis player if I was wanting money.

“I just enjoy what I do and it’s about the only thing I’m really good at.”

World champion Mollie O’Callaghan struck the first decisive blow in the mind games for Australia’s most contested event, winning the 100m freestyle in 52.27s from Meg Harris (52.59s) and Olympic champion Emma McKeon.

Former world record holder Cate Campbell was sixth in her comeback to national level in 53.91s, while younger sister Bronte Campbell withdrew from the final after posting 54.13s in the heat due to a slight strain in her calf muscle.

O’Callaghan said she wanted to go faster and was working with a sports psychologist to handle the pressure of entering an Olympic year as the title favourite and world champion.

Mollie O'Callaghan, who won gold in the 100m freestle at the world championships last year, wants to go even faster this year. Picture: Getty Images

Her time was just 0.01s behind Marrit Steenbergen’s time to win the 2024 world titles in Doha in February, that most of the world’s best swimmers bypassed.

“I’m always wanting to improve and go faster than a PB and push beyond expectations,” she said.

“I don’t really set a time I want to do but I feel like no matter what race I’m kind of not happy with it and wanting more.

“There is expectation to be fast and the pressure coming off the past few years.

“I have a support team that helps me with that and its quite open communication and I can tell them anything.

“Obviously I’m a bit of a pain, I think a lot of athletes are the same.

“They really help us and it’s great to have people you can trust.”

A rejuvenated and recently engaged Elijah Winnington pulled off a shock 400m freestyle win over 2023 world champion Sam Short, touching in 3:41.41 with Short just behind in 3:41.64.

It was the second fastest swim in Winnington’s career, the fastest in the world this year and would’ve won gold at the Tokyo Olympics.

Kyle Chalmers showed his recent relocation from Adelaide to the Sunshine Coast had proved successful, as he won the 50m butterfly in a personal best time of 23.10s.

Reigning 200m breaststroke Olympic champion Zac Stubblety-Cook showed promising signs of speed coming off the back of a three-week altitude camp in Ariona, winning the 100m event in 59.85s.

“Pleasantly surprised coming off an altitude camp,” he said.

Ariarne Titmus won the 800m freestyle in 8:17.80, ahead of Lani Pallister (8:19.38), but lamented her time as she admitted she had yet to fully grasp how to uncork a cracking distance swim.

“It’s good in-season swimming, but the way I’ve been training I just think I should be better than that,” she said.

“For some reason the 800 I feel like I can’t translate it, but we will get there.

“We’re still in hard work so we can’t expect too much.

“I think the 800 I look at the distance and just look at it as far. I do a lot more in training. I think mentally I’m just trying to crack something in the 800.”

Originally published as Australian Swimming Championships 2024: Olympic Games tune-up - news, results, reaction