McKeown survives scare to book world c'ship ticket

World record holder Kaylee McKeown survived a huge fright before winning the 50m backstroke at the Australian world championship trials on Monday after being disqualified from her heat and then reinstated.

- Agence France-Presse

The reigning Olympic 100m and 200m back-stroke gold medallist hit the wall in 27.33 seconds to edge Mollie O'Callaghan (27.39) in the final and book her ticket to the championships in Singapore next month.

It came after a nerve-racking day for the 23-year-old, who won her morning heat convincingly but was disqualified over a slight head movement on the blocks, where competitors must be absolutely still.

The distraught gold medal favourite and 2023 world champion appealed against the disqualification and had to endure an anxious two-hour wait before being reinstated.