Australian swimmer Emma Mckeon set the Tokyo Aquatics Centre on fire with a memorable performance at the Tokyo Summer Games. With two medals on the final day of swimming at the 2020 Summer Games, she became the first female swimmer to clinch seven Olympic medals in a single edition of the Games. With this, she also became Australia’s most celebrated swimmer at the Games.

Emma comes from a rich swimming pedigree. Her father Ron competed at the 1980 and 1984 Olympic Games and has four Commonwealth Games gold medals under his belt. Her mother Susie was a Commonwealth Games swimmer and brother Rob Woodhouse participated at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics Games. He settled for a bronze medal in Los Angeles. Her brother David won a silver in the Rio edition and is a dual Olympian.

Born on May 24, 1994, she took up swimming as a baby and was inspired to take up the sport, owing to her rich family background.

Emma, after narrowly missing selection for the London 2012 Olympic Games, took a hiatus from the sport before rediscovering her passion for swimming. She made her senior international debut at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. At the competition, she won six medals from six races – four gold and two bronze.

In the following year, she finished fourth fourth in the womne’s 100m butterfly, seventh in 200mfreestyle at the 2015 World Championships in Kazan, Russia. But returned with a 4x100m freestyle gold and 4x100m medley bronze.

At the Rio 2016 Games, she was Australia’s most successful swimmer and that too in her debut. She took home one gold, two silver and bronze.

At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, she clinched the yellow metal in the Women’s 100m butterfly, 4x100m freestyle relay (world record), 4x200m freestyle relay (games record), 4x100m medley relay (games record) and bronze in the 200m freestyle and 200m butterfly.

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During the Olympic Trials, Emma claimed double gold as she won in both the womens 100m and 50m freestyle. She has won more than 40 medals and set numerous World and Commonwealth Games Records since she began competing for Australia.

At the Australian Swimming Trials in Adelaide she set a new Commonwealth record in the 100m Butterfly. She recorded the second fastest swim of all time.

Apart from swimming, she loves reading, travelling and going to the beach. Her career aspiration outside of swimming includes international aid work as she studied Public Health at Griffith University.

According to her profile on the Australian swimming website, three words that describe her are: Happy, fun and kind.

She believes in the philosophy: “Have fun, train hard and believe.”

Olympic Games medal tally

Rio, Brazil, 2016

Gold in the Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay

Silver in the Women’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay

Silver in the Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay

Bronze in the Women’s 200m Freestyle

Finished 6th in the Women’s 100m Butterfly

Tokyo, Japan 2020 (2021)

Gold in the Women’s 100m Freestyle (OR, CR, AR)

Gold in the Women’s 50m Freestyle (OR)

Gold in the Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay (WR)

Gold in the Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay (OR)

Bronze in the Women’s 100m Butterfly (AR)

Bronze in the Women’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay

Bronze in the Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay