McKeown’s Maui gold in 200m backstroke

 

   

Swimming Australia, August 27, 2016: Sunshine Coast schoolgirl and the baby of the team, Kaylee McKeown won Australia’s fifth gold medal of the Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Maui earlier today.

 

McKeown, just 14, finished over the top of US star and meet record holder Lucie Nordman and fellow Australian Minna Atherton in a blanket finish at a session held in windswept conditions at the Kihei Aquatic Centre.

 

 

 

The sister of Rio Olympic medley relay silver medallist, breaststroker Taylor McKeown, the Chris Mooney coached youngster was all smiles as her Olympian sister looked on from poolside.

 

 

 

McKeown clocked a time of 2:10.01, powering down the third lap and proving too strong for Nordman (who had clocked 2:09.59 in the morning heats) and World Junior Champion, Atherton.

 

 

 

The gold-bronze finish to the Australian girls again reinforced Australia’s female backstroke depth which is led Olympic  stars Emily Seebohm, Maddi Wilson and Belinda Hocking.

 

 

 

The young Aussies, many of whom will be pushing for the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the 2020 Olympics won one gold, one silver and five bronze medals on day three of the four-day meet, taking the team’s overall medal tally to an impressive five gold, five silver and eight bronze.

 

 

 

The Australians also grabbed silver behind the USA in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay (Jack Cartwright 49.15, Louis Townsend 49.72, Elijah Winnington 50.55 and Matthew Wilson 50.23) for 3:19.65.

 

 

 

The girls won bronze in the corresponding event in 3:45.37 (Minna Atherton 56.70 Gemma Cooney 55.78 Krily Siebenhausen 56.34 Julia Hawkins 55.27).

 

Earlier in the day came a spate of bronze medals to the Australians with former Tasmanian age group star Ariarne Titmus, now at St Peters Western, clocking an impressive personal best time of 4:09.81 in the women’s 400m freestyle.

 

The men’s event saw Jacob Vincent (Miami) take the bronze in 3:54.24 from Elijah Winnington (Bond) in fourth on 3:54.94.

 

While Gemma Cooney (River City Rapids) was third home in the women’s 100m butterfly in 58.97, a time just outside her personal best.