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In case you’re just joining us, here’s what the program looks like tonight: Kaylee McKeown goes bang with an Australian record. She lowered the mark she set in April at the Australian Championships. Ella Ramsay gets on the team but spare a thought for Jenna Forrester who misses out after coming fourth at the world championships last year.

Kaylee McKeown owns the Australian record (2:06.99) and should cruise to victory and book her ticket to Paris. I can’t see Katinka Hosszu’s world record of 2:06.



12 being broken. Like Titmus, McKeown hasn’t completely tapered here either. Her time to shine will be seven weeks down the track.

This is the event McKeown was disqualified in at the world championships last year due to an illegal backstroke to breaststroke turn. The race for second will be a beauty. Jenna Forrester had an excellent 2023 (fourth at worlds) but has had an interrupted 2024 due to injury.

Ella Ramsey looms as a contender and clocked the fastest heat swim (2:10.96). Ramsey gets second for mine.

Titmus admitted to being a little nervous about tonight’s final, but she didn’t show it out of the blocks. By the 100m mark she had half a body length on Lani Pallister, the world short course champion and her biggest rival in this race. The latter managed to keep herself within striking distance until the last 150m, but after that she was no chance whatsoever.

Her coach, Dean Boxall, was hiding away near the media tables down at the pool deck and went a bit wild as.

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