 Competed at the 2002 Commonwealth Games held at Manchester, where she finished third behind Sarah Price in the 200m backstroke.At the British Trials on 20 March 2003, Katy Sexton shattered the Commonwealth record to book her place at the World Championships in 1min 00.49sec, the sixth fastest ever at that time.Sexton, who was then coached by Chris Nesbitt in Portsmouth, had a previous best before the championships of 1min 01.80sec.