Final Thursday, Australian Kaylee McKeown set a brand new world report within the girls’s 100 backstroke (SCM) with a clocking of 54.56 throughout the 2024 Australian Brief Course Championships.
Any world report is an unbelievable feat by itself, however this one is especially notable as a result of it was set in September. On the whole, the month tends to lack main meets (although not at all times the case).
How uncommon is it to set a world report in September? And what’s the frequency we see data damaged within the different months?
It’s true that world data in September haven’t been frequent in recent times. Within the final decade, none have been set in lengthy course meters, and solely two in brief course meters.
However traditionally, it’s completely different. In lengthy course meters, no fewer than 134 world data have been set in September since 1957, when World Aquatics began recognizing world data solely in metric measurements. That is third solely to August (492) and July (362), the months that normally host the first championships of the 12 months. A few of these competitions have additionally taken place in September, such because the 1972, 1988, and 2000 Olympic Video games and the 1973 and 1994 World Championships, therefore the excessive variety of data on this month.
However on this century, main meets in lengthy course meters haven’t been held in September. That’s why, since 2001, solely three world data have been set in September in 50-meter swimming pools, certainly one of which was in a person occasion (Japan’s Akihiro Yamaguchi within the 200 breaststroke in 2012) and two in relays, within the 4×100 freestyle and 4×100 combined medley, in 2013, by the Indiana College crew, shortly after World Aquatics started recognizing world data in combined relays.
As for brief course meters, we’ve seen data come extra regularly in September. Since 1991, when World Aquatics started recognizing world data in 25-meter swimming pools, there have been 27 world requirements, 16 of them on this century. This doesn’t come near essentially the most prolific months, November (98) and December (187), months which have hosted a number of stops of the World Cup, the Worldwide Swimming League and the World Brief Course Championships. However there have been World Cup legs held in September, in addition to some related nationwide championships, such because the Australian Nationals, so world data in September haven’t been so uncommon, a minimum of in brief course meters.
Trivia: In quick course meters, there has by no means been a world report in Might. And there’s solely ever been one in June: Australia’s Michael Klim, within the males’s 50 butterfly in 2000, in a solo time trial on the Australian Institute of Sports activities in Canberra.
Because the begin of the twenty first century in lengthy course meters, there have been no world data in November, and solely two in December. They data damaged got here from American Randall Bal within the males’s 50 backstroke in 2008 on the Dutch Swimming Cup in Eindhoven, and Brazil’s Cesar Cielo within the males’s 50 freestyle in 2009 on the Brazilian Nationals. The latter nonetheless stands in the present day.
