GOLD COAST -- Kaylee McKeown may have been a touch premature on ruling out the 400m individual medley from her swim slate at the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris.
The Queenslander dominated her rivals for the second time in as many nights at the Australian Open Championships on the Gold Coast, stopping the clock at 4:28.22 to better Stephanie Rice's national record in the event, one that had stood since 2008.
It's the second time in 24 hours McKeown snatched an Australian record away from Rice. The backstroke star, who won gold in the 100m and 200m races in Tokyo, also went quicker on opening night of the meet in her preferred 200m individual medley, posting a time of 2:06.99.
But those hoping to watch McKeown battle 400m individual medley world record holder Summer McIntosh later this year will be bitterly disappointed. Earlier this month, McKeown confirmed she would not contest the eight-lap multi-discipline race in Paris, which clashes on Day 3 with her women's 100m backstroke semifinals.
Not even clocking the quickest time so far this year, albeit two and a half seconds down on McIntosh's best effort from 2023, will change her approach. Instead, McKeown will focus on the 100m, and 200m backstroke races, the 200m medley, as well as her relay duties.
Due to her workload, McKeown did not contest the 100m backstroke final -- the event she has held the world record in since October, 2023 -- on night two of the Australian Open Championships. Instead, that race was taken out by rising star Mollie O'Callaghan in a time of 58.09.
Also on night two, Olympic champion Zac Stubblety-Cook stormed home to edge Japan's Ippei Watanabe in the men's 200m breaststroke. Stubblety-Cook trailed for 198 metres of the race, but fed off the crowd support to surge home at the death and touch the wall in a time of 2:07.50.
"There's still a bit to work on," said Stubblety-Cook. "I think I rushed that first 50. It hurt me a little bit at the end, but that's alright. We live and learn. Tonight was good to have a bit more quality in the field. I'm just trusting my process."
Long distance star Sam Short continued his dominance in the 1,500m race. The 20-year-old completed the 30-lap event outside the 15-minute mark, but was backing up from his night one swim in the 400m. Short continues to have his eyes set on both races, as well as the 800m, ahead of Paris.
Shayna Jack and Meg Harris split the honours in the women's 50m freestyle. The pair both clocked 24.28, though Jack did go marginally quicker earlier in the day with a 24.21 in her heat.
Brisbane teenager Elizabeth Dekkers crushed her competition in the women's 200m butterfly, setting an all-comers record of 2:05.20, while Jenna Strauch backed up her triumph in the women's 50m breaststroke by taking out the 100m race in a time of 1:07.37.
Earlier in the night, 18-year-old Flynn Southam upset the more-fancied Elijah Winnington and Maximillian Giuliani in the men's 200m freestyle.