Mollie O’Callaghan and Kaylee McKeown made a remarkable start to Australia’s swimming era following Ariarne Titmus’ retirement by setting new short course world records at the World Cup event in Westmont, Illinois.
Olympic champion in the 200-meter freestyle, O’Callaghan achieved a time of 1:49.77 to win the event on Saturday, surpassing the previous record set by Siobhan Haughey of Hong Kong in 2021.
McKeown then outpaced her rival Regan Smith to claim victory in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:57.87 on the final night of the competition on Sunday, breaking Smith’s previous record set at the short course world championships in December.
In a reversal of their previous encounter, McKeown led the race from the start and managed to hold off Smith until the finish line, marking a change in strategy for the Australian swimmer.
Expressing her satisfaction with the performance, McKeown, aged 24 and a two-time Olympic gold medalist in the backstroke events, credited Smith for pushing her to excel in the race.
The exceptional displays by the Australian swimmers came shortly after Ariarne Titmus, the Olympic 400 freestyle champion, surprisingly announced her retirement from competitive swimming at the age of 25.
Kate Douglass of the United States also made headlines by breaking the world record in the 100 freestyle with a time of 50.19, surpassing the previous record held by Cate Campbell of Australia.
With the successful record-breaking performances, the focus now shifts to the upcoming World Cup event in Toronto, which will be the final meet of the series.