Tokyo 2021: The rise of Aussie sprint queen Emma McKeon from water baby to Olympic greatness

With parents who both represented Australia in swimming, Emma McKeon got a great headstart in the water. Now she stands on the cusp of history after being crowned the Olympic sprint queen.

Emma McKeon was just a toddler when she started propelling herself across the pool with a couple of simple kicks.

She was a water baby, taking to the pool with a natural confidence and ease — which isn’t really surprising considering her parents fell in love as teammates ahead of the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane.

Ron and Susie McKeon are decorated swimmers in their own right, with Ron swimming at two Olympics in 1980 and 1984, and Susie at the Commonwealth Games. But Ron says he and Susie are “mere minnows” when talking about his son, David, and daughter Emma’s talents in the pool.

“They’ve achieved much more than us,” he laughed.

Emma McKeon grabbed gold in the 100m freestyle.

A powerful force in the pool, but a “reserved girl who loves the beach and being at home with her family” outside of it, Emma was single-minded in winning at her second Olympic Games.

In Tokyo, Emma has become the second most-winning Australian Olympian. She has now won eight medals, and one more she joins legends Ian Thorpe and Leisel Jones.

And while it seems she was bred for this kind of success, Susie and Ron say they never wanted to force swimming onto any of their three children, knowing the level of commitment and sacrifice it takes.

“Susie and I know quite keenly what it actually takes to compete at that level, and while they may have the talent, they may not necessarily have that desire,” Ron said.

“We were very open to the fact that so long as they could swim, so long as they enjoyed it, that was the cornerstone thing.

“And if they grew into that high performance mindset, well so be it. But it wasn’t going to be the be all and end all.”

The McKeons are a tight-knit family.

But with their parents running a swim school in the Illawarra, David, Emma and their younger sister, Kaitlin, were always around a pool.

While their oldest David was first to make it to the Olympics, swimming for the Aussies in 2012 and 2016, he always had to work harder than his younger sister.

When Emma took to the pool with ease, she developed a quiet competitiveness that quickly saw her succeed.

“She saw her older brother doing it and wanted to compete - it felt very natural…,” Ron said.

“She was probably better than him at a young age at a lot of things … She was very athletic and had that sort of quiet competitiveness, when she did something she just tried her best.”

And so began her swimming career, with her dad coaching her and David until her late teens.

McKeon and family after she won the 11yrs 100m freestyle at the Victorian Championships.

Like any parent-child relationship, Ron confessed coaching his kids wasn’t always easy, but he always enjoyed it. He and Susie were quietly aware their kids couldn’t always be coached by their dad, and knew at some point he’d have to hand the reins over to someone else.

“Those conversations actually started very, very early in their swimming and even then they were saying ‘no, we’re not leaving, we are not leaving’,” Ron said.

“I guess it wasn’t so much a conversation than it was just the point that there will come a time.”

That time came very naturally one day as Emma sat in the car with her parents at age 18, with the little sister once again leading the way for her big brother - or “big oaf” as Ron laughed.

Emma told her Dad “I’m now ready, I think I have to move on”.

Susie and Ron both agreed that was “the best scenario”, it was on Emma’s terms and her own timing.

Emma McKeon with her sister Kaitlin and Olympic champion Jodie Henry in 2005.

Ron said it wasn’t hard to let go, again saying that in their family - it’s not all about swimming, but growing up, and becoming good people.

“I knew it was the right thing, I knew she had so much more to explore with herself and just growing up, so it wasn't really about her swimming,” he said.

“It was about them both growing up as young people and developing themselves.

“Susie and I are very much about our kids growing as good young men and women, and whatever they decide from there will come.”

And come it did. Emma went on to win four gold medals at the Commonwealth Games in 2014, before winning another four medals at her first Olympic Games in Rio.

The McKeons are all very close, with Susie and Ron following their children to competitions all over the world. Emma and David lived together for several years, and their parents said they were thankful they had each other on what - at times - was a gruelling training schedule.

Her first Aussie experience in 2010.

Now the fastest woman in the world.

“The three of them rely on each other so much for emotional support, which is lovely to see,” Susie said.

“They really hang it out there for each other as well.”

Susie and Kaitlin cheered Emma on from the stands in Rio with several other family members, and Susie admits not being able to watch Emma at her second Olympics is a little tough.

“We’re very excited for her, but obviously disappointed we won’t be able to attend,” she said.

“When she swims, it’s always nerve wracking and I think when you bring it to the Olympics it adds another level to it as well.”

Ron and Susie have been Olympics fanatics long before their children were part of it, and being in lockdown won’t be stopping them from cheering their girl on.

Her parents had to watch Emma McKeon pick up her gold from home.

They are bringing in a big-screen TV to catch every moment, and decorating the house in green and gold and Australian flags, while also bringing a taste of Tokyo to their Illawarra home with Japanese cherry blossom decorations.

“It’s exciting when it comes around every four years and our big Olympic family comes together.”

“But hopefully it’s more than just the three of us here.”

Originally published as Tokyo 2021: The rise of Aussie sprint queen Emma McKeon from water baby to Olympic greatness