FLASH! Kaylee McKeown and Regan Smith Both Go Under World Record in 200 Backstroke in Epic Battle
The latest chapter in the backstroke rivalry between Australian Kaylee McKeown and American Regan Smith was written on Sunday night, as the longtime friendly rivals engaged in an epic battle in the 200-meter backstroke at the World Cup stop in Westmont, Illinois.
For eight laps, McKeown and Smith went stroke for stroke and both women raced to times under the previous world record, with McKeown emerging triumphant in 1:57.87. McKeown’s time was good for the world record, as it dipped under the 1:58.04 that Smith delivered at last year’s World Short Course Championships in Budapest. Smith was also under her former global mark, going 1:57.91 for an American record.
McKeown and Smith have gone head-to-head in major competition for years, with McKeown securing the past two Olympic titles in both the 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke and several world championships in matchups with Smith. Last week, Smith topped McKeown in the 100 backstroke at the World Cup in Carmel, while McKeown was the winner of the 200 backstroke in 1:58.86. In a week, the Aussie sliced a second off that time.
In their latest tussle, McKeown held a slight lead at the 50-meter turn, going 27.93 to the 28.03 of Smith. The Australian’s margin grew to 57.68 to 57.85 at the midway point of the race and sat at 1:27.50 to 1:27.91 at the 150-meter turn. Smith cut into her deficit over the last two laps, but McKeown’s early edge held up.
While McKeown broke the 200 backstroke world record, Smith equaled her 100 backstroke standard of 54.02 on Saturday night. The backstroke stars will square off again next week, when the World Cup shifts to Toronto.
