Matt Welsh put the disappointment of disqualification at the Commonwealth Games and the Pan-Pacific Championships behind him to smash the short course 50 backstroke world record at the Australian short Course Championships. Welsh recorded a time of 23.31 to take the record from American Neil Walker. On the same night Michael Klim made a comeback from injury to win the 200 freestyle, in the absence of Thorpe and Hackett, in a respectable 1:45.71, his first competitive outing since back surgery earlier in the year.