2023 SYDNEY OPEN & UNISPORT NATIONALS
The 2023 Sydney Open rolled on from SOPAC with some of Australia’s best talent diving back in for day two action.
Among the winners was 21-year-old Kaylee McKeown, with the Olympic multi-medalist crushing a new lifetime best of 4:31.68 in the women’s 400m IM. That doubled up with her career-quickest outing of 2:07.19 she produced last night in the 200m IM.
McKeown was back in the water later on in the session, garnering another gold in the women’s 100m back. She claimed the top spot in a result of 58.33, representing the sole competitor of the field to get under the minute threshold.
Splitting 28.82/29.51, McKeown raced her 4th best time of 2023. She already owns a season-best of 57.84 to rank #1 in the world.
Another Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers put on a show, claiming the men’s 100m free title in a season-best performance.
24-year-old Chalmers got to the wall in a time of 47.69 to claim the gold, easily defeating the field by over a second.
Next in line was 17-year-old Bond athlete Flynn Southam who snagged silver in 48.98 while Cameron Gray rounded out the top 3 in 49.45.
Chalmers opened in 22.97 and brought it home in 24.72 to produce his quickest time of the season. The Marion swimmer now ranks 3rd in the world with the Australian World Championships Trials on the horizon for next month.
| 2 | David Popovici |
ROU | 47.61 | 04/08 |
| 3 | Kyle Chalmers |
AUS | 47.69 | 05/13 |
| 4 | Matthew Richards |
GBR | 47.72 | 04/06 |
| 5 | Hwang Sunwoo |
KOR | 47.78 | 10/12 |
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Visiting New Zealand swimmer Erika Fairweather made some major noise en route to claiming gold in the women’s 200m free.
The 19-year-old punched an effort of 1:55.80, a time which fell less than half a second off her own Kiwi national standard of 1:55.44. Tonight Fairweather opened in 57.16 and brought it home in 58.64 to get the job done.
Fairweather’s 1;55.44 was just logged at last month’s New Zealand Championships so the fact she’s still in the sub-1:56 range is impressive for this freestyle ace. The teen’s time of 1:55.44 already ranks her 6th in the season’s world rankings.
Behind Fairweather in tonight’s 2free race was Chalmers’ teammate Madi Wilson, with the 28-year-old Olympian clocking a mark of 1:56.71.
That hacked over a second off her previous season-best of 1:57.72 registered at last month’s Australian National Championships and checks in just outside Wilson’s list of ten best personal performances in this event. She now ranks 12th in the world ahead of next month’s World Trials.
Another New Zealand racer landed atop the podium, as 28-year-old Helena Gasson took the women’s 50m fly event.
Gasson registered a winning effort of 26.63 to slide in ahead of Meg Harris who settled for silver in 26.66. Abigail Schoorl was tonight’s bronze medalist in 26.84.
Gasson placed 7th in this event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, logging a personal best of 26.24. Harris’ time tonight was just a sliver off her best-ever of 26.63 scored at the Australian National Championships last month.
Additional Winners
- 21-year-old Ben Armbruster clocked a time of 25.49 to snag the men’s 50m back gold. Armbruster was a hair faster in the morning, claiming the top seed out of the heats in 25.48.
- The women’s 100m breast saw Talara-Jade Dixon get to the wall first in a time of 1:08.79.
- 25-year-old Sam Williamson grabbed gold in the men’s 50m breast, hitting a mark of 27.63 as the sole swimmer under 27 seconds in the final.
- The men’s 200m fly saw Griffith’s Bown Gough grab gold in 1:57.94.
- Matthew Galea snagged the top spot in the men’s 800m free in 8:02.14 while Maddy Gough clocked 16:12.69 to take the women’s 1500m event.