Emily Seebohm steaming towards world titles in Budapest

World champion Emily Seebohm has set the fastest 200m backstroke of the year as she prepares for world titles.

Emily Seebohm in action at the Australian Swimming Championships in Brisbane in April. Picture: Peter Wallis

Backstroke diva Emily Seebohm is gathering momentum in Europe as she prepares for her world title defence in Budapest next month.

Seebohm set the fastest 200m backstroke time in the world this year at the closing round of the Mare Nostrum series in Canet in France yesterday, clocking 2:06.66, a time that would have earned her a medal at last year’s Rio ­Olympics.

It is her fastest time since last year’s Olympic trials and will ­bolster the confidence that suffered when she failed to perform to her own standards in either backstroke event in Rio .

That looks more and more like a glitch caused by the health ­problems she developed last year that resulted in her having surgery for endometriosis just after ­Christmas.

That operation was swiftly followed by another to remove her wisdom teeth and, with her health restored, the 25-year-old backstroker has found her rhythm again.

Backing up from a win in the 50m backstroke yesterday (28.13sec), Seebohm won the 200m by more than two seconds from the woman ranked third in the world this year, Russia’s Daria Ustinova (2:08.76), while Olympic silver medallist Katinka Hosszu was back in fourth.

Seebohm’s coach David Lush confirmed that escaping from the Australian winter had put the world champion in a good frame of mind ahead of the worlds, saying she was relishing the new challenge of competing on the Mare Nostrum circuit.

“Emily is healthy and enjoying racing and training in the sun here,’’ Lush said.

Seebohm has been undefeated in the 100m and 200m backstroke across the three-meet Mare Nostrum series and is building a wave of momentum that will be hard to stop in Budapest.

Her fellow world backstroke champion, and partner in life, Mitch Larkin is having a more difficult time.

He was third in both the 50m and 200m backstroke in Canet as he adjusts to a different training regime under new coach Simon Cusack.

Four-times Olympic medallist Emma McKeon was just pipped in the race of the day in the women’s 200m freestyle final, which featured four of the top six ranked women in the world.

Sweden’s Michelle Coleman, who trains with coach Richard Scarce on the Gold Coast for part of the year, just out-touched McKeon, 1:56.22 to 1:56.29, with Dutch challenger Femke Heemskerk a close third (1:56.51).

All three women should be in the medal mix in Budapest but they will have to get past American Olympic champion Katie Ledecky to take the title.

National sprint champion Cameron McEvoy finally appears to have found some speed midway through his European tour, finishing second in the 50m freestyle (22.17sec) behind Brazilian world championships medallist Bruno Fratus (21.52sec).