Emma McKeon Born to swim
Emma McKeon is rarely mentioned in the same breath as Dolphins teammates Cate Campbell or Ariarne Titmus, but that looks set to change with Tokyo. The 26-year-old stunned at the recent Olympic trials and is tipped to add some serious bling to her four-medal haul from Rio in 2016.
“It’s her time – she’s in the form of her life,” predicted swimming legend Grant Hackett even before Emma took out the 50m-100m freestyle sprint double, as well as the 100m butterfly at the trials in Adelaide. Her second place in the 200m freestyle means she could compete in up to eight events in Tokyo. “No one in Australian swimming will dare say it out loud for fear of jinxing her, but Emma McKeon could be on the verge of becoming Australia’s greatest Olympian,” trumpeted Sydney’s Daily Telegraph.
“I don’t really think about that,” she tells The Weekly matter-of-factly. “I’m just focusing on training hard, preparing well and putting my best race together.”
It helps that Emma comes from a family accustomed to the intensity of elite swimming. Her dad Ron, brother David and uncle Rob Woodhouse were Olympic swimmers, while her mother Susie competed at the Commonwealth Games.
Growing up around her parents’ swimming school in Wollongong, Emma always looked poised for stardom in the pool. However, when she narrowly missed out on a spot on the 2012 team, she considered throwing in the towel. “I was so upset,” she admits. “But I don’t think it was a bad thing. I realised I love the thrill of working towards a goal.”
Four years later, when she and David were selected for Rio – becoming the first brother-sister duo to represent Australian swimming since John and Ilsa Konrads in 1960 – she did selectors proud, claiming the 200m freestyle bronze, along with a gold and two silvers for relay events. In Tokyo, Emma will be chasing that elusive individual gold.
“COVID gave me the chance to catch my breath,” she admits. “I went back home to Wollongong and spent time with my family, and I am feeling much better prepared.”
There will, however, be one downside. Emma says it will feel strange to finish her race, look up to the stand and not see her family there. “That will be tough. But I know I have their support from wherever they’re watching.”