Olympics-Backstroke dominator McKeown eyes medley gold at Paris pool

Swimming - World Aquatics Championships - Aspire Dome, Doha, Qatar - February 11, 2024 South Korea's Kim Woo-min in action during the men's 400m freestyle heats REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Backstroke queen Kaylee McKeown marked herself a major threat for the 200 metres individual medley gold at the Paris Olympics as she shattered a national record at the Australian Open Championships on Wednesday.

McKeown will defend her 100m and 200m backstroke titles at Paris but a separate showdown with Canadian sensation Summer McIntosh beckons for the medley title after the Australian's sizzling time of 2:06.99 at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre.