Australian swimming star Kaylee McKeown has made history with her 200m backstroke win at the world short-course championship.

She is the first woman to simultaneously hold the Olympic, Commonwealth world long-course and world short-course titles for the same event.

Compatriot Grant Hackett is the only other swimmer to achieve the same feat in the 1500m.

McKeown was under her own world record pace for much of Sunday night’s final in Melbourne, but clocked one minute 59.26 seconds to fall just short of the 1:58.94 she set two years ago.

American Claire Curzan pushed McKeown all the way and took silver in 2:00.53.

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It is McKeown’s third gold medal of the championships after she took out the 100m backstroke and was a member of the victorious 4x50m medley relay team.

Australia now has 11 golds at the championships, equalling its best short-course worlds medal hauls in 1995 and 2006.

McKeown will finish her championships later on Sunday night in the women’s 4x100m medley relay, where Australia has qualified second fastest behind the United States.

Compatriot Kyle Chalmers did not swim in the 200m freestyle heats on Sunday, preferring to concentrate on the men’s 4x100m medley relay.

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Canadian Maggie MacNeil opened Sunday night’s session with her second world record of the event, smashing the old mark in the 100m butterfly.

MacNeil clocked 54.05 seconds to break the record by a whopping half a second.

She has won all of Canada’s three gold medals at the Melbourne worlds.

South African Chad le Clos added the 100m butterfly title to his 200m win at the championships and Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania took out the women’s 50m breaststroke.

American Nic Fink set a championship record of 25.38 seconds when he won the 50m breaststroke.

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-AAP