Adelaide: Australian teenager swimmer Kaylee McKeown (19) created a world record for the women’s 100m backstroke in 57.45sec at the Australian Olympic trials in Adelaide on Sunday.

She dedicated it to her father who passed away in 2020. The teenager Kaylee McKeown swam a sensational race to sweep past American rival Regan Smith’s all-time mark of 57.57, set at the 2019 world championships.

McKeown turned in 28.10 and was never under threat as she powered to the finish. Veteran Emily Seebohm hit the wall second in 58.59 to also book her place in Tokyo in what will be her fourth Olympics.

After her win Kaylee said with tears in her eyes at poolside in Adelaide, I just can’t believe it. I just wanted to come in tonight and blow out the cobwebs. It’s been a huge year for me and my family. It’s been 10 months since my dad passed today. So with that behind me and doing that I think he would be very proud.