Kaylee McKeown returned to the top step of the swimming podium on Sunday (12 October), clocking 1:58.86 to win the women’s 200m backstroke ahead of Team USA’s Regan Smith at the 2025 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup in Carmel, United States of America.
The win represented a return to form for the Australian backstroke specialist after a shocking loss to long-time rival Smith in the women’s 100m backstroke a day earlier.
While the two had locked horns on numerous occasions throughout their careers, Mckeown hadn’t lost to the seven-time Olympic medallist since 2019. Nonetheless, she appeared unfazed as she settled in the blocks on Sunday.
Powering ahead of the field in a time just shy of the World Cup record, she touched the wall more than a second before Smith, who reached the wall in a time of 2:00.07 to claim second.
For a while, it looked as though rising star Charlotte Crush might actually be the one to deny Mckeown.
The young swimmer looked strong through the halfway mark, but began to fade in the second part of the race. She was ultimately passed by McKeown and Smith, but held her own to finish third in a time of 2:02.28.
“Being short course, I really have to work on my strengths, and that’s the swim,” McKeown told broadcasters after the race. “My coach will be pretty disappointed to know that I was three kicks off my last wall, but I got to do what I got to do.”
She was the second Australian swimmer to stand atop the podium, after Lani Pallister clocked 8:02.02 to win the women’s 800m freestyle earlier in the evening.