No Seebohm, no problem for backstrokers

The Emily Seebohm era is not officially over, according to Australian head swimming coach Jacco Verhaeren.

But young guns Minna Atherton and Kaylee McKeown are doing their best to convince him there has been a changing of the guard in Australian women's backstroke at the world titles in South Korea.

McKeown, 18, on Saturday night claimed 200m backstroke silver behind American world record holder Regan Smith with Minna Atherton sixth.

The teenagers backed up their impressive 100m backstroke effort at the titles where world record holder Atherton, 19, claimed a stunning silver medal just 0.25 of a second behind Canada's world champion Kylie Masse.

McKeown was not far behind in fifth.

The pair have stepped up after Seebohm sensationally failed to qualify for the championships at Gwangju, robbing her of the chance to become the first woman to win three straight 200m backstroke world titles.

It seemed to mark the beginning of the end for the 12-year Dolphins team veteran.

But Verhaeren is convinced the 27-year-old will bounce back ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

"It is always unfortunate if an athlete of that calibre does not qualify," he told AAP.

"But I am confident that she will find a way to fight her way back.

"We understand she is disappointed with not qualifying but having said that she is still very much in the fight to get to her next Olympics and I know she will work hard to achieve that."

However, Australia haven't exactly been struggling in Seebohm's absence in South Korea.