Did You Know? Australian Swimmer Emma McKeon’s Family History in the Pool

You might be familiar with Emma McKeon, the most decorated Australian in Olympic history,  but did you know she is not the only swimming superstar in her family?

Having won 11 Olympic medals in total, four in Rio and seven in Japan, McKeon holds both the Australian record for most Olympic medals over the course of a career in any sport and the most medals won by any female swimmer in a single Games. McKeon also holds the record for most all-time Commonwealth Games medals; her count jumped to 20 at the 2022 competition, surpassing the previous record of 18.

On top of her stack of medals, McKeon currently holds three world records (200 SCM medley relay, 400 SCM freestyle relay, 400 LCM freestyle relay) and four Olympic records (50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 400 freestyle relay, 400 medley relay).

Emma has undoubtedly made a name for herself in the pool, but what you might not have realized is that the McKeon family name had already established itself in swimming history long before she built her collection of medals.

Born in New South Wales, Emma and her siblings, David McKeon and Kaitlin McKeon, entered into a family of Australian swimming royalty.

The family patriarch Ron McKeon was himself an Olympic swimmer for Australia in the 1980s. He competed in both the 1980 Games in Moscow and the 1984 Games in Los Angeles; he placed as high as 4th as a part of the 800 freestyle relay team. His individual events included the 200 and 400 free in Moscow, and he only raced the 400 in LA.

While he never secured an Olympic medal, Ron made six trips to the podium at the Commonwealth Games over the course of his career. Appearing at the 1978 and 1982 competitions, he won four golds, one silver and one bronze thanks to his mid-distance freestyle performances.

The swimming genes come from both sides of the family, as Susie McKeon also represented Australia on the international stage. She placed 5th in the 200 fly at the 1982 Commonwealth Games, while her brother, Rob Woodhouse, made two Olympic showings in 1984 and 1988. He won bronze in the 400 IM at the Los Angeles Games, becoming Australia’s first medalist in a men’s individual medley event.

Continuing the McKeon legacy alongside Emma is her older brother David, who made his Olympic debut at the London Games and was later joined by his sister in Rio. His first Olympic appearance came only three years after joining the sport and saw him finish 5th in both of his races; like father like son, he competed in the 400 freestyle and swam on the 800 freestyle relay. David repeated these events in 2016 with the addition of the individual 200 freestyle; the highest place he achieved was in the relay, where the Australian team narrowly missed out on a medal to take 4th.

The McKeon family legacy in swimming continues beyond racing in the pool, as Ron and Susie direct McKeon’s Swim School in Illawarra, a center designed to offer swim instruction to individuals of all ages. They opened the school over 30 years ago, and their daughter Kaitlin has coached with them there for several years.