Emma McKeon is a competitive swimmer who represents Australia internationally. She is a 2x Olympian and in 2020, became the first female swimmer to win 7 medals at a single Games.
Emma McKeon is a sprint specialist and member of Australia’s National Team. Born May 24, 1994 McKeon is from Wollongog, New Wales, and currently trains with St. Peters swimming club with Michael Bohl. Her best events are the 100m and 200m freestyles, and 100m butterfly.
Fun facts
McKeon is also studying at Griffith University, receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Public Health and Health Promotion and majoring in Nutrition. She’s a bit of a junk-food addict – she says that her favorite drink is a caramel milkshake and her favorite food is ice cream. She also lists water skiing as one of her hobbies, and her ideal day off includes sleeping and a day at the beach.
Family history
She comes from an athletic family; her brother, uncle, mother, and father all swam. McKeon’s brother, David, and her father, Ron, are both Olympic swimmers, but Emma qualified for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in the same Brisbane pool that her mother, Susie, and her uncle qualified in for the 1982 Commonwealth Games.
2010 season
In 2010 McKeon medaled in three major international competitions to fill her breakout year. At the 2010 Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Hawaii she won three silvers in the 400m freestyle relay, 100m freestyle and the 50m freestyle as well as a bronze in the 200m freestyle. At the Youth Olympics in Singapore McKeon won gold in the 400m medley relay, a silver in the 100m butterfly, and two bronze medals in the 50m and 100m freestyles. McKeon also won a bronze medal in the 400m medley relay at the World Short Course Championships in Dubai.
2013 Barcelona World Championships
At the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona McKeon won two silver medals competing in the 400m freestyle relay and the 800m freestyle relay.
2014 Pan Pacs
2014 was another big year for McKeon. At the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships held in the Gold Coast, McKeon won silver on the 800m freestyle relay, but also competed in the 100m butterfly, 200m freestyle and 100m freestyle.
2014 Commonwealth Games
McKeon won four gold medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in the 200m freestyle, 400m freestyle relay, 400m medley relay, and 800m freestyle relay and two bronze medals in the 100m butterfly and 100m freestyle. McKeon’s 400m freestyle relay win at the Commonwealth Games was also a World Record.
2016 Rio Olympics
McKeon finished almost a full second behind new Olympic Record Holder Sarah Sjostrom in the semifinals of the 100 M Fly but two tenths or more ahead of the rest of the field to put her in contention of a medal. In the finals, she would end up having to settle for 6th place.
However, McKeon bounced back to won a bronze medal in the 200M free swimming a 1:54.92, losing to only two women who had both already won gold in these Olympics, Katie Ledecky and Sarah Sjostrom.
2017 FINA World Championships
On Day one, McKeon helped her Aussie teammates to a silver medal in the 4×100 freestyle relay, splitting 52.29.
In the final of the 100m butterfly on day two McKeon found a way to shave an additional time off her personal best mark to snag silver in a new Commonwealth and Australian National Record of 56.18.
Day four in a thrilling 200 freestyle battle, McKeon and Katie Ledecky tied for silver–Ledecky’s first silver in a major international championships. Both women were faster the previous night in the semis, 1:54.99 for McKeon and 1:54.69 for Ledecky, but each wound up touching in 1:55.18 for the tie in the finals. Italy swim star Federica Pellegrini won in 1:54.73.
McKeon swim the second leg on Australia’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay, splitting 1:56.26, teaming with Madison Wilson, Kotuku Ngawati, and Ariarne Titmus to win the bronze medal.
In the 4X100m Mixed Medley Relay, McKeon swam the butterfly leg, teaming with Mitchell Larkin, Daniel Cave, and Bronte Campbell to win the silver medal. The foursome set a new Oceanic record with a time of 3:41.21, just 0.04 seconds ahead of the bronze medalists, Canada.
In the finals of the 100m Freestyle, McKeon could only muster an eighth place finish with a time of 53.21, off her best time of 52.80.
In the 4x100m Medley Relay, McKeon swam the butterfly leg, splitting a 56.78 to help Australia win the bronze medal. Swimming with Emily Seebohm, Taylor McKeown and Bronte Campbell, Australia finished behind the US and Russia.
2018 Commonwealth Games
McKeon won the gold in the 100 butterfly in a Commonwealth Games record time of 56.78. She also earned the bronze medal in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:56.26.
2018 Pan Pacific Championships
On day 1, Mckeon had relay duties as she swam the fly leg on the winning Aussie 400 mixed medley relay. On day 2, Mckeon kept the ball rolling as she split 1:55.66 on the winning Aussie 4×200 free relay. Day 3 Mckeon pulled double medals, first swimming to bronze in the 100 fly (56.54) then going 3rd on the Aussie 4×100 free relay (52.56) to pull ahead of the USA and give Cate Campbell clean water for the Aussie’s to take the gold. On day 4, Mckeon earned a pair of medals, first touching 3rd in the 50 free in a time of 24.34. She finished off her pan pacs performance with a gold in the women’s 4×100 medley relay, pulling fly duties once again with a split of 56.45.
2019 World Championships
Mckeon started her world championships in the women’s 4×100 free relay, where she split 52.57 on the 3rd leg to help Australia get a gold medal and championship record.
On Day 2, Mckeon earned her first individual medal of the champs, a bronze in the 100 fly with a time of 56.61.
Mckeon was scheduled to swim prelims of the 200 free the next day, but pulled out due to illness. On Day 4, Mckeon swam on the finals of the 4×100 mixed medley relay, splitting 56.14 on butterfly to help the Aussie touch for gold in a tough battle with the USA that was decided by just .02.
On Day 5, Mckeon raced in the 4×200 free relay, where she split 1:54.90 on the anchor leg to help Australia win gold ahead of the USA in a world record time of 7:41.50.
On Day 7, Mckeon raced in the finals of the mixed 4×100 free relay, splitting 52.06 to help the Australians earn silver in a new Oceanian record.
On the final day of competition, Mckeon picked up butterfly duties on the 4×100 medley relay, splitting 56.32 to once again aid the Aussies to a silver medal.
2021 Olympic Games
Mckeon had a very strong Day 1 in Tokyo. She recorded a 55.82 personal best in the 100 fly prelims and followed it up with a 56.33 semi-final outing to secure her spot in the final. To end the first finals session, she went 3rd on Australia’s 4×100 free relay, splitting a whopping 51.35 field-best to help the Aussie women to break their own world record and earn their 3rd straight gold in the event.
On Night 2, Mckeon earned her first Olympic medal of the Games, touching at a personal best of 55.72 to earn bronze.
Mckeon was back for the final of the 800 free relay, swimming the 2nd leg in 1:55.31 to help Australia earn bronze, dipping below their previous world record to see a new Oceanian record.
On Night 6, Mckeon was in the women’s 100 free the next night, swimming out front from start to finish and touching the wall first in 51.96, a new personal best, Olympic record and individual gold for Mckeon.
On night 7, after the semifinals of the 50 free, McKeon swam on the mixed medley relay for Australia, swimming the fly leg and helping them to a bronze medal.
On the final night in Tokyo, McKeon started thing sin the 50 free, where she broke her own Olympic record (24.00 from semis) at 23.81, a huge personal best and her 6th medal of the Games. McKeon finished her Games in historic fashion, swimming fly on the medley relay to help Australia win gold, earning her 7th medal and becoming the first woman in history to win 7 gold medals at an Olympic Games in any sport.
2023 World Aquatics Championships (Fukuoka, Japan)
With her focus firmly set on Paris 2024, McKeon had a slightly below average Worlds for her. In the 100 fly prelims, she was 57.05 while in semis, she was better in 56.89. In the finals she was 4th in 56.88. In the 100 free, McKeon was 3rd in prelims (53.40), ath in semis (53.00), and 5th in finals (52.83). In the 50 free, she was 24.69 in prelims and 24.67 in semis. McKeon had another outside finish with a 24.35 for 5th in the final.
Even with her slightly disappointing individual finished, McKeon still was a key relay asset, she anchored in 51.90 on the world record destroying Aussie 400 free relay that won gold. On the mixed 400 medley relay, she was 56.70 on the fly in prelims. The final squad won silver. On the 400 medley, she was 56.44 on the fly as AUS won sliver.
