Who Is Emma McKeon? Australian Swimmer Sets New Record At Commonwealth Games 2022

The 28-year-old Emma McKeon, an Australian Swimmer set a new Commonwealth Games record for most victories when she won the 11th gold medal of her career, spread among competitions in Birmingham, Glasgow, and the Gold Coast.

Emma McKeon, an Australian swimmer, made history that night in the water by being the most successful athlete at the Commonwealth Games.

In competitions held in Glasgow, the Gold Coast, and Birmingham, McKeon, 28, won her 11th gold medal overall, breaking the previous Commonwealth Games record for most victories.

Her other two victories in Birmingham were in the 4x100-meter freestyle and 4x100-meter mixed relays, making this her third gold medal overall.

Who is Emma McKeon?

Emma McKeon is a competitive swimmer from Australia. In the 4x100 metre freestyle relay, she holds four world records—one current and three former—to her credit. After the 2020 Olympic Games, she has won 11 Olympic medals overall, making her Australia's most decorated Olympian. These medals included one gold from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and four gold medals from the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

She tied for the record for the most medals won by a woman in a single Olympic Games with her four gold and three bronze wins in the 2020 Summer Olympics, making her the most decorated athlete overall. Additionally, she has won 12 medals, including eight gold, in the 2014 Glasgow and 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, as well as 17 medals, including four gold medals, at the World Aquatics Championships.

With five total gold medals won at her first two Olympic Games in 2021, McKeon tied Ian Thorpe for the most Olympic gold medals ever won over the course of an Australian athlete's career. She finished with a total of fourteen medals, including ten gold medals, making her the highest-scoring competitor overall for the 2021 FINA Swimming World Cup, regardless of gender.

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Early Life and Background

Emma was born in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, on May 24, 1994. Her sister Kaitlin McKeon is a National age swimmer and Paramedicine student. Her brother is Olympian David McKeon. Her father is Ron McKeon also a swimmer who is a four-time Commonwealth gold medalist and two-time Olympian. Her uncle Rob Woodhouse was a two-time Olympian, as was her mother Susie, who also competed in swimming in the Commonwealth Games.

After completing her secondary studies at The Illawarra Grammar School in 2012, she moved to Brisbane at the age of 18 to train with Vince Raleigh at the Chandler Aquatic Center in 2014.

In 2015, McKeon switched coaches again and started training under the coaching of Michael Bohl. They initially trained at Brisbane's St Peters Western Swimming Club, but in 2017 they moved to Griffith University on the Gold Coast, where McKeon was pursuing a bachelor's degree in public health and health promotion with a concentration in nutrition.