Surpassing the likes of Susie O’Neill, Leisel Jones and Ian Thorpe, McKeon has cemented her place as the most successful Commonwealth Games athlete with a stunning gold medal sweep.
The Commonwealth Games may have only begun on Friday, but already the international sporting event has delivered incredible victories, devastating lows, and triumphs of the human spirit that make sport such a captivating competition, with the ability to not only see one push past limits they thought previously impossible, but unite countries in the process. If one athlete is certain to emerge from this Commonwealth Games as a celebrated figure on home soil, it’s Emma McKeon. The swimmer has now written her name into the history books and cemented her dominance in the sport, winning her 11th gold medal in the women’s 50m freestyle to become the most successful athlete in Commonwealth Games history.
The Commonwealth Games has been a special campaign for McKeon. In the one-lap final that demands athletes give it their all as soon as they step onto the starting blocks, she led from the front and finished in identical fashion. In winning the gold, it meant McKeon has now surpassed the likes of other Aussie Greats: Leisel Jones, Susie O’Neill and Ian Thorpe, all of whom are tied on 10 gold medals apiece.
It might seem like McKeon’s dominance is impossible to shake, but in testament to her hard work and discipline when it comes to training, competition has been significant in recent years. At Birmingham, she faced competition from qualifiers Shayna Jack and Meg Harris, but was ultimately too good and never slowed. The victory was yet another to add to her success in the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay and women’s 4x100m freestyle relay. McKeon also won four gold medals at each of the 2018 Gold Coast Games and 2014 edition in Glasgow.
Speaking about the momentous occasion, McKeon expressed: “It’s really nice to be mentioned alongside some of those names and I will be part of that history for years to come, hopefully. They’re the ones who inspired me when I was young. I remember watching them on TV and that lit the fire in me to be where I am now.”
“It is special. It makes me reflect on the last eight years since my first Commonwealth Games. I can see how far I’ve come as a person and an athlete.”
emma mckeon
McKeon is also Australia’s most decorated Olympian with 11 medals – five gold, two silver and four bronze – and will have the opportunity to further expand her collection at these Commonwealth Games when she contests four further events, having qualified fastest for the 50m butterfly final on Monday morning.
Already, the Commonwealth Games are proving to be a successful campaign for the Australian athlete cohort. Ariarne Titmus went on to clock the fastest-ever women’s 200m freestyle split to anchor the Australian relay team of Madi Wilson, Kiah Melverton and Mollie O’Callaghan to gold in a world-record time of seven minutes and 39.29 seconds, bettering the mark of 7:40.33 which was set by China in Tokyo. World record holder Kaylee McKeown also won gold in the women’s 100m backstroke.
Source @womenshealth.com.au: Read more at : womenalive.org
