“We just came from a training camp in Cairns. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a very solid week in before this,” McKeown said. “Some people swim the same times throughout the whole season and I’m that person.
“I’ve just got to trust my training and keep pushing. Once you’re in the top one per cent, 0.01 of a second [improvement] is hard to find. Without a doubt, it’s hard to get back into training and find something to work on but I am the kind of person who believes in my program. If [coach Michael Bohl] believes I can go faster, I’ve got to believe in him too.”
Meanwhile, Ariarne Titmus also put down an impressive marker to begin her Olympic year with a tight victory in her favoured 400m freestyle final.
In her first major meeting of the year, Titmus (4:02.39) edged out Lani Pallister (4:02.65) in an entertaining race after trailing with 100 metres to go.
Ariarne Titmus in her 400m freestyle race in Sydney. Credit: Emma Newton
Titmus, who hasn’t lost a 400m freestyle final since 2018, was breathing towards Pallister on the final lap as she came from behind to touch the wall first.
There is still four months to go before Titmus swims in Paris – providing she qualifies at trials in June – but the early signs look promising for the reigning Olympic champion.
Cracking the four-minute mark was once seen as a massive deal but Titmus does it for fun now, even in heavy blocks of training.
The time, which is seven seconds outside her world record, isn’t a concern given how early it is in the year.
Ariarne Titmus with her 400m freestyle gold medal at the world swimming championships alongside Katie Ledecky (left) and Erika Fairweather (right).Credit: Getty
Titmus and her training partners at St Peters Western Swim Club were put through a gruelling camp in Thailand last month that head coach Dean Boxall hopes will pay off later in the year.
Boxall was watching closely in the stands at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre.
No matter what happens over the coming months, Titmus will be ready to go on the opening night of competition in Paris when the women’s 400m freestyle takes place.
It is the most anticipated final on the schedule and has already been dubbed the race of the century.
Titmus lost her world record to Summer McIntosh last year but wrestled it back by destroying the Canadian teenager at the world championships in Fukuoka.
In one of the greatest performances in Australian swimming history, Titmus shaved 0.7 seconds off the world record to edge Katie Ledecky, Erika Fairweather and McIntosh by more than three seconds.
Her time of 3:55.38 exceeded all expectations but the 23-year-old knows it is likely that she will have to go faster in Paris.
The NSW State Open Championships are an important stepping stone in an Olympic year ahead of the Australian championships in April and trials in June.
Titmus and Boxall will get their best gauge of how McIntosh is tracking when she competes in the Canadian trials in May.
Already this year, McIntosh has bounced back after her disappointing race against Titmus in Japan last year. She beat Ledecky in a 800m freestyle race recently.
It was the first time the American had lost an 800m event for 13 years.
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Pallister was narrowly outside her personal best time of 4:02.07 but will be happy with how she is tracking in the early stages of the year. She finished sixth at last year’s world championships in a time of 4:05.17.
Bronte Campbell (24.64) knocked off Emma McKeon and Mollie O’Callaghan (both 24.83) in the women’s 50m freestyle, while Flynn Southam overcame food poisoning last week – courtesy of a dodgy chicken parmigiana at the local pub – to win the men’s 200m freestyle in 1:48.28 ahead of Max Giuliani (1:48.53).
“I was vomiting my guts up and I lost about three kilos,” Southam said. “I was pretty low on energy but for me to come here and do a time like that, all things considering, I’m pretty happy.”
Source Agencies
