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Swim stars Titmus, McKeown shine at trials

Steve LarkinAAP
Kaylee McKeown's domination at the Australian Olympic swimming trials has continued.
Camera IconKaylee McKeown's domination at the Australian Olympic swimming trials has continued. Credit: AAP

Australia's Ariarne Titmus shrugs her sore shoulder after swimming the second-fastest women's 200m freestyle ever.

She can't comprehend how she got so close - 0.11 seconds - to a world record considered nigh-on untouchable.

Only an Italian in a super-suit a dozen years ago has gone quicker.

Titmus achieved her feat at Australia's Olympic selection trials in Adelaide on Monday night.

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Just 24 hours earlier, the 20-year-old was within 0.44s of the 400m freestyle world record.

All this, with a dodgy shoulder.

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"I don't really know," Titmus said of how she's within reach of two world records rated almost unattainable.

"It (her shoulder) is holding up really well.

"At the start of the week I was a bit worried, it was a bit sore.

"But I am just managing it as best I can ... it's hanging in there, it's getting the job done."

With Emma McKeon trailing into second place, Titmus clocked one minute 53.09 seconds in the 200m final - 0.11s from the world record set in a super-suit by Italian Federica Pellegrini in 2009.

Titmus will carry gold-medal favouritism into next month's Tokyo Games. So will compatriot Kaylee McKeown.

Australia's latest world record holder, McKeown fought fatigue on Monday yet still logged the fastest 200m individual medley in almost two years.

A night after setting a new 100m backstroke benchmark, McKeown - on just four-and-a-half hours sleep - streeted the medley field.

"That is probably the toughest thing I had to overcome ... there was a lot of fatigue," she said.

"I just looked at (coach Chris) Mooney and said 'I don't know how this is going to go'.

"I just did the best I could recovery-wise. I tried to get to sleep and I couldn't, the adrenaline was still pumping."

McKeown's winning time of 2:08.19 was the quickest since August 2019.

In the men's 800m freestyle, Jack McLoughlin was the only swimmer inside the Olympic qualifying time.

Mack Horton, who missed selection to defend his 400m freestyle title on Tokyo, finished fifth - his only chance of making the Olympics is as a relay squad member.

And in the men's 200m butterfly final, Matt Temple edged David Morgan by 0.15s, with both inside the qualifying mark.

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