Records to McKeown and Cooper before Kaylee withdraws

AN exhausted Kaylee McKeown (pictured) has pulled out of World Aquatics World Cup swimming series.

On Day 1 of the opening leg of the circuit, the 23-year-old broke the Oceanian, Australian and World Cup Record in the women’s 50 backstroke, clocking 25.36 for the second-fastest swim of all-time, just 11 one-hundredths shy of the world record.

But then the 23-year-old announced she would pull out of the remaining two legs to concentrate on her mental health.

“Coming off the Olympics, you go from such a high to such a low,” McKeon said.

“I am struggling to find the motivation to push myself.

“I have been doing this for such a long time and I really just need to take some time away from the pool.”

The Olympic 100m and 200m champion then posted on social media: “Putting my mental health first, I’ve decided to cut my experience short. As an athlete it’s so important to listen to your heart and to know when enough is enough.”

“Time for a well overdue break.”

Backstroke World Champion Isaac Cooper also set a new World Cup record: swimming 22.58 in the men’s heats of the 50m backstroke on Saturday beating the old mark of 22.61 set by American Peter Marshall 15 years ago.

“I knew that I would have to do something special if I wanted to beat that time. I think I was a little bit deep on my dive, and the same with my turn. I probably didn’t nail the kicks as well as I would have liked to do,” he said.

“There is always room for improvement. The best thing is that I get to race this event again next week and the week after that, so I have more chances to improve.”

The second leg of the World Cup Series will be held in South Korea from October 24-26.