Kaylee Mckeown Defies Shoulder Scare To Win 100m Backstroke World Title

Australia’s backstroke prima Kaylee McKeown has flooded an wounded scare to seizure different world title.

Just weeks aft dislocating a shoulder, McKeown notched a individual champion to triumph nan women’s 100m backstroke astatine swimming’s world championships successful Singapore connected Tuesday night.

After compatriot Lani Pallister claimed nan women’s 1500m freestyle bronze medal, McKeown triumphed successful a clip conscionable 0.03 seconds extracurricular of nan world record.

The Queenslander produced a trademark flying decorativeness to separator her awesome rival and world grounds holder, American Regan Smith.

McKeown touched successful an Australian grounds 57.16 seconds, up of Smith (57.35) who holds nan world grounds of 57.13.

The 24-year-old revealed she was injured betwixt Australia’s action tests past period and this meet.

“I person sewage a really elastic changeable and it’s my use erstwhile I aquatics my backstrokes,” she said. “But sometimes it tin origin maine to dislocate my shoulder.

“It’s been rather irritated but I person sewage a bully aesculapian squad and physiotherapists to thief maine get through. I’m really really proud. It’s a small spot emotional.”

Lani Pallister of Australia celebrates her bronze successful nan 1500m freestyle. Photograph: Fazry Ismail/EPA

McKeown has ticked nan first container successful what she hopes is simply a aureate double successful Singapore – backstroke wins complete 100 and 200 metres.

In nan women’s 1500m freestyle, Pallister took bronze – conscionable arsenic she did successful nan arena astatine nan worlds 3 years ago.

Fellow Australian Moesha Johnson, a week aft winning 2 golden medals for Australia astatine nan unfastened h2o world championships, vanished seventh.

Pallister (15 minutes 41.18 seconds) and Johnson (16:02.45) joined a decades-long database of swimmers near successful nan aftermath of American megastar Katie Ledecky.

The peerless Ledecky (15:26.44) has now won 22 world titles and her golden connected Tuesday took her wide badge tally to 28, 2nd only to compatriot Michael Phelps’s 33.

“They’re each stressful successful immoderate ways, relaxing successful immoderate ways,” Ledecky said. “I conscionable effort to bask each one.

“I surely consciousness very assured successful my 1500, my expertise to clasp a pace, truthful I conscionable wanted to fastener into a accelerated gait from nan commencement and clasp connected to it.”

In nan women’s 200m freestyle semi-finals, Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan and Jamie Perkins precocious to Wednesday night’s badge title arsenic second- and fifth-fastest qualifiers respectively.