Australia’s most decorated Olympian, Emma McKeon, announced her retirement from all forms of swimming on Monday, bringing an end to a glittering career in which she won 14 medals at three Olympics and 20 at world championships.
The 30-year-old sprinter had signalled her retirement earlier this year at the Paris Olympics after winning a gold, silver and bronze in relays to help Australia to its most successful Summer Games.
“I will definitely miss it … It’s brought me a lot of great relationships and shaped me into the person I am,” McKeon said in the statement confirming her retirement.
“But I’m definitely ready for the next part of my life, which I’m excited for. I don’t think I’ve had the time to reflect on everything yet.”
McKeon missed out on the London Olympics as a teenager but hit her stride in Rio in 2016 where she won her first gold in the 4×100 metre relay as well as silvers in two other relays and a bronze in the 200m freestyle.
In Tokyo in 2021, she won the 100m and 50m freestyle sprint titles which, along with two relay golds and three bronze medals, gave her the biggest medal haul for a single athlete at the delayed Games.
“She was and will continue to be a great role model for younger athletes,” said Australia’s swimming coach Rohan Taylor.
“She always carried herself with dignity, and while we all saw her grace – the public can not truly appreciate how tough she is.”
Taylor and McKeon’s uncle, Swimming Australia chief executive Rob Woodhouse, both picked out her triumph in the 100m freestyle in Tokyo, when she finished 0.31 seconds ahead of Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey, as the highlight of her career.
“The 100m freestyle was one of the greatest races I have ever watched but I have also loved watching her advocate for those coming up through the ranks,” said Woodhouse.
As well as her six Olympic golds and five world titles, McKeon was also part of relay teams which set eight world records in the pool, three of which still stand.
Reflecting on missing out on the team for the London Games, McKeon said she hoped her story would inspire young athletes to persist with their dreams.
“You have ups and you have downs. You just keep going along and you keep ticking the boxes. I can’t believe where I’m at right now and how I got here,” she added. “I want young kids to know that I was once in the same position they are – dreaming of one day doing something big.”
