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Emma MCKEON
Sport Swimming
NOC Australia   
GenderWomen
Born24 May 1994 in Wollongong, AUS
Height1.81 m
 Human Interest 
Sport Specific Information
Club / Team
Griffith University: Nathan, QLD, AUS
General Interest
Famous relatives
Her brother David represented Australia in swimming at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games, while her father Ron represented Australia in the sport at the Olympic Games in both 1980 and 1984. Her mother Susie [nee Woodhouse] competed in swimming at the 1982 Commonwealth Games, and her uncle Robert Woodhouse won a bronze medal in the 400m individual medley at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. (SportsDeskOnline, 20 Feb 2020; theaustralian.com.au, 07 Nov 2011)
Sport Specific Information
Why this sport?
Her parents were both swimmers. "I just love being in the water. I was a water baby and we did everything around the water as a family. I got into competitive swimming as I love to race."
General Interest
Hero / Idol
Australian swimmer Libby Trickett. (olympics.com.au, 2010)
Sport Specific Information
Name of coach
Michael Bohl [club], AUS
When and where did you begin this sport?
She was enrolled in swimming lessons as an infant.
Further Personal Information
Languages
English
General Interest
Nicknames
Em (swimming.org.au, 2013)
Sporting philosophy / motto
"A champion is defined not by their wins but by how they can recover when they fail." [Serena Williams] (swimming.org.au, 01 Jan 2019)
Other information
EXCELLING IN TOKYO
She won seven medals at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo to take her to a total of 11 medals at the Olympic Games, making her the most decorated Australian Olympian of all time. Her tally at Tokyo 2020 included five gold medals, something an Australian had never achieved before at a single edition of the Olympic Games. "I look at the athletes that have come before me and I've been so impressed with what they've done and so inspired by what they've done but I've never really been into the stats of medal counts. To be in that kind of company, it's an honour. I know I've worked hard for it. I think that's why it will take a little while to sink in, I've been forcing myself to keep my cool. I'm very proud of myself. I wouldn't be able to do it without all the support behind me." (SportsDeskOnline, 21 Oct 2021; smh.com.au, 01 Aug 2021)

RIO EXPERIENCE
Having won four medals [one gold, two silver, one bronze] at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, she decided she would improve her performances by spending more time in the gym ahead of the 2020 Games in Tokyo. "What I was lacking [in 2016] was strength behind most of the girls in the world so putting that good block of gym work in definitely made me a lot stronger. I feel confident in that. After the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo, I kind of just did a lot of gym work, my focus was getting stronger so I really didn't do much swimming and then just heavy in the gym and I feel like that really paid off." (nine.com.au, 18 Apr 2019)

SWIMMING CLINICS
She and her brother David run swimming clinics at her family's swim club McKeon's Swim School in Unanderra, NSW, Australia. (McKeon Swim School Instagram profile, 11 Oct 2018; illawarramercury.com.au, 17 Sep 2018)
Awards and honours
In 2021 she was named Best Female Swimmer of the Year by the International Swimming Federation [FINA]. (fina.org, 17 Dec 2021)

She received the 2021 Female Swimmer of the Year award from swimming website SwimSwam in its Swammy Awards. (swimswam.com, 22 Dec 2021)

She was the joint-recipient of the 2019 Most Outstanding Achievement award from Griffith University in Australia. (news.griffith.edu.au, 11 Nov 2019)

In 2017 she was named Swimmer's Swimmer of the Year and was presented with a Patron Award by Swimming Australia. (thenewdaily.com.au, 29 Oct 2017)

She and her 4x100m freestyle teammates received the 2014 Golden Moment Award from Swimming Australia in recognition of their world record-breaking swim at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. (swimswam.com, 22 Dec 2014)

She was inducted into the Australian Path of Champions in 2014. The Path of Champions recognises the achievements of Australia's top athletes. (swimswam.com, 21 Oct 2014)
Further Personal Information
Occupation
Athlete
General Interest
Most influential person in career
Her parents. (gc2018.com, 07 Jan 2018)
Further Personal Information
Higher education
Health Science - Griffith University: Brisbane, QLD, AUS
General Interest
Injuries
She was affected by a shoulder injury in January 2018. She had a cortisone injection in her troubled shoulder before competing at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, QLD, Australia. (news.com.au, 06 Aug 2018; smh.com.au, 24 Mar 2018)
Memorable sporting achievement
Her performance at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (news.griffith.edu.au, 12 Aug 2021)
Milestones
She won seven medals at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo to take her to a total of 11 medals at the Olympic Games, which is more than any other Australian athlete. Her tally at the 2020 Games made her only the second female athlete from any nation [after Soviet gymnast Maria Gorokhovskaya in Helsinki in 1952] to have won seven medals at a single edition of the Olympic Games, while she also became the first athlete representing Australia to win four gold medals at a single edition of the Games at Tokyo 2020. (SportsDeskOnline, 21 Oct 2021; swimmingworldmagazine.com, 01 Sep 2021)

 Competition Highlights
Olympic Games
Rank Year Venue Event Result
3 2021 Tokyo, JPN 100m Butterfly 55.72
1 2021 Tokyo, JPN 100m Freestyle 51.96
1 2021 Tokyo, JPN 50m Freestyle 23.81
1 2021 Tokyo, JPN 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:51.60
3 2021 Tokyo, JPN 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay 7:41.29
1 2021 Tokyo, JPN 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:29.69
3 2021 Tokyo, JPN 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:38.95
6 2016 Rio de Janeiro, BRA 100m Butterfly 57.05
3 2016 Rio de Janeiro, BRA 200m Freestyle 1:54.92
2 2016 Rio de Janeiro, BRA 4 x 100m Medley Relay  
1 2016 Rio de Janeiro, BRA 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:30.65
2 2016 Rio de Janeiro, BRA 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay 7:44.87
World Championships
Rank Year Venue Event Result
4 2023 Fukuoka, JPN 100m Butterfly 56.88
5 2023 Fukuoka, JPN 100m Freestyle 52.83
5 2023 Fukuoka, JPN 50m Freestyle 24.35
2 2023 Fukuoka, JPN 4 x 100m Medley Relay  
1 2023 Fukuoka, JPN 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:27.96
2 2023 Fukuoka, JPN 4 x 100m Medley Relay  
3 2019 Gwangju, KOR 100m Butterfly 56.61
Heats 2019 Gwangju, KOR 200m Freestyle  DNS
4 2019 Gwangju, KOR 100m Freestyle 52.75
1 2019 Gwangju, KOR 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay 7:41.50
1 2019 Gwangju, KOR 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:30.21
2 2019 Gwangju, KOR 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:53.42
2 2019 Gwangju, KOR 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:19.97
1 2019 Gwangju, KOR 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:39.08
2 2017 Budapest, HUN 200m Freestyle 1:55.18
2 2017 Budapest, HUN 100m Butterfly 56.18
8 2017 Budapest, HUN 100m Freestyle 53.21
3 2017 Budapest, HUN 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:54.29
3 2017 Budapest, HUN 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay 7:48.51
2 2017 Budapest, HUN 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:32.01
2 2017 Budapest, HUN 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:41.21
Heats 2015 Kazan, RUS 50m Butterfly 26.79
7 2015 Kazan, RUS 200m Freestyle 1:56.41
4 2015 Kazan, RUS 100m Butterfly 57.67
6 2015 Kazan, RUS 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay 7:51.02
1 2015 Kazan, RUS 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:31.48
3 2015 Kazan, RUS 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:55.56
2 2013 Barcelona, ESP 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay  
2 2013 Barcelona, ESP 4 x 100m Medley Relay  
2 2013 Barcelona, ESP 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:32.43
World Championships Short Course
Rank Year Venue Event Result
1 2022 Melbourne, VIC, AUS 50m Freestyle 23.04
1 2022 Melbourne, VIC, AUS 100m Freestyle 50.77
2 2022 Melbourne, VIC, AUS 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay 1:28.03
2 2022 Melbourne, VIC, AUS 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:44.92
2 2022 Melbourne, VIC, AUS 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay 1:34.23
1 2022 Melbourne, VIC, AUS 4 x 50m Medley Relay 1:42.35
1 2022 Melbourne, VIC, AUS 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:25.43
8 2010 Dubai, UAE 100m Freestyle 53.10
Semifinal 2010 Dubai, UAE 50m Freestyle 24.41
4 2010 Dubai, UAE 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:30.92
3 2010 Dubai, UAE 4 x 100m Medley Relay  
World Cup
Rank Year Venue Event Result
1 2021   Overall Ranking  
1 2021 Berlin, GER 100m Freestyle 50.96
1 2021 Berlin, GER 50m Freestyle 23.56
2 2021 Berlin, GER 50m Butterfly 25.10
1 2021 Budapest, HUN 50m Freestyle 23.50
1 2021 Budapest, HUN 100m Freestyle 50.58
1 2021 Budapest, HUN 50m Butterfly 24.97
2 2021 Doha, QAT 50m Freestyle 23.54
3 2021 Doha, QAT 50m Butterfly 25.07
1 2021 Doha, QAT 100m Butterfly 55.83
1 2021 Doha, QAT 100m Freestyle 51.15
1 2021 Kazan, RUS 50m Freestyle 23.53
2 2021 Kazan, RUS 50m Butterfly 24.94
1 2021 Kazan, RUS 100m Butterfly 55.63
1 2021 Kazan, RUS 100m Freestyle 50.67
21 2017   Overall  
2 2017 Singapore, SGP 200m Butterfly 2:04.88
2 2017 Singapore, SGP 200m Freestyle 1:53.31
6 2017 Singapore, SGP 50m Butterfly 25.65
1 2017 Singapore, SGP 4 x 50m Medley Relay 1:38.65
12 2014   Overall  
3 2014 Singapore, SGP 200m Freestyle 1:55.06
1 2014 Singapore, SGP 100m Freestyle 52.45
5 2014 Singapore, SGP 50m Butterfly 26.36
2 2014 Tokyo, JPN 200m Freestyle 1:53.15
4 2014 Tokyo, JPN 100m Butterfly 57.26
5 2014 Tokyo, JPN 50m Freestyle 24.77
2 2014 Tokyo, JPN 100m Freestyle 52.21
7 2014 Tokyo, JPN 200m Butterfly 2:07.93
20 2013   Overall  
4 2013 Berlin, GER 200m Freestyle 1:54.11
7 2013 Berlin, GER 100m Butterfly 58.66
4 2013 Berlin, GER 100m Freestyle 52.50
6 2013 Berlin, GER 50m Butterfly 26.18
  2013 Berlin, GER 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay  DSQ
1 2013 Berlin, GER 4 x 50m Medley Relay 1:40.95
3 2013 Eindhoven, NED 200m Freestyle 1:53.06
2 2013 Eindhoven, NED 100m Freestyle 51.99
1 2013 Eindhoven, NED 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay 1:29.31
2 2013 Eindhoven, NED 4 x 50m Medley Relay 1:40.39
3 2013 Singapore, SGP 100m Freestyle 52.21
6 2013 Singapore, SGP 400m Freestyle 4:07.21
3 2013 Singapore, SGP 50m Butterfly 25.81
1 2013 Singapore, SGP 200m Freestyle 1:52.40
5 2013 Singapore, SGP 100m Butterfly 57.84
6 2013 Singapore, SGP 50m Freestyle 24.67
4 2013 Singapore, SGP 4 x 50m Medley Relay 1:42.18
2 2013 Singapore, SGP 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay 1:32.75
3 2013 Tokyo, JPN 200m Freestyle 1:53.32
8 2013 Tokyo, JPN 50m Freestyle 24.34
2 2013 Tokyo, JPN 100m Freestyle 51.69
3 2013 Tokyo, JPN 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay 1:33.25
21 2011   Overall  
1 2011 Beijing, CHN 50m Freestyle 24.15
1 2011 Beijing, CHN 100m Freestyle 53.09
3 2011 Singapore, SGP 50m Butterfly 26.15
3 2011 Singapore, SGP 50m Freestyle 24.40
1 2011 Singapore, SGP 100m Freestyle 52.41