Paris Olympics 2024: Will Australian swim stars ever match Dawn Fraser’s historic feat?
Swimming great Dawn Fraser’s achievements are in a league of their own. But three Aussie swim stars are eyeing one of her most cherished records.
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It is a testament to the sheer greatness of Dawn Fraser that her mind-blowing accomplishments in the pool rarely get mentioned alongside the current golden generation of Australian female swimmers.
But that’s not a snub against “our Dawnie’. On the contrary, it’s the ultimate mark of respect.
Like Don Bradman’s batting average, Fraser’s enduring achievements are in a league of their own so it’s almost futile and unfair to compare her to the other legends who have followed in her slipstream.
But now, almost 60 years after Fraser hung up her green and gold cossies, three young Australian female swimmers are eyeing off one of her most cherished records.
As implausible as it sounds, Fraser is the only Australian female swimmer to successfully defend an individual Olympic title.
That just doesn’t sound right because Australia has produced so many incredible Olympic champions over the years, starting with Fanny Durack in 1912.
Yet, it’s true that only Fraser has been able to go back-to-back – underlining just how difficult and scarce the achievement is.
Australia’s original “golden girl”, she even managed the three-peat – winning the 100m freestyle gold medals at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics –.an occurrence so rare that no-one even contemplates that any more.
But finally, there is a glimmer of hope that another Aussie woman can sit alongside Fraser by repeating their historic win at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in Paris next year.
Of course, no-one is taking anything for granted yet because the sport evolves so quickly that few swimmers ever get to stay at the top for long.
But there is genuine reason to believe history could be made in the French capital because the three Australian women – Emma McKeon, Ariarne Titmus and Kaylee McKeown – could each be defending two titles, thus doubling their chances.
With just more than 15 months to go before the Paris Olympics, this is how they stand in their events.
EMMA McKEON
McKeon won a record seven medals in Tokyo, including individual golds in the freestyle sprint double, to become Australia’s most prolific Olympic medallist in any sport. She will be 30 in Paris, making her one of the older swimmers, but still the one to beat.
50m freestyle: The only woman to win this event twice is Inge de Bruijn of the Netherlands (2000, ’04) – completing the feat just days before her 31st birthday. McKeon skipped last year’s world championships but won the 50m title at the Commonwealth Games and short-course world championship and is ranked third in the world since Tokyo.
100m freestyle: Only Fraser has won this event more than once. McKeon suffered a surprise loss to her teenage teammate Mollie O’Callaghan at the Commonwealth Games last year but won the short-course world title.
ARIARNE TITMUS
Titmus completed the middle-distance freestyle double in Tokyo after an unforgettable win over American superstar Katie Ledecky. But she faces another big hurdle to win in Paris, where she will be 23.
200m freestyle: History beckons for Titmus because no swimmer – male or female – has ever won this event twice. Titmus owns the three fastest times in the world since 2009 and despite being pushed all the way by O’Callaghan at last year’s Commonwealth Games, this could be the race for the “Terminator”.
400m freestyle: This is shaping as the most anticipated race of the Paris Olympics. Not only will Titmus face Ledecky again, but she’ll also square off against Canadian teenage sensation Summer McIntosh, who broke the Australian’s world record in the event. Adding to the challenge for Titmus is that no woman has won the 400m twice since American Martha Norelius (1924, ’28).
KAYLEE McKEOWN
McKeown completed the backstroke double in Tokyo and has gone from strength to strength since and will only be 22 in Paris.
100m backstroke: Only American Natalie Coughlin (2004, ’08) has won this race twice but McKeown is the world record holder and still the undisputed No.1
200m backstroke: McKeown is even more dominant in the 200m than she is in the 100m, recently breaking the world record while still in training. History bodes well for McKeown as Krisztina Egerszegi (1988, ’92, ’96) and Kirsty Coventry (2004, ’08) have repeated as winners.
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Originally published as Paris Olympics 2024: Will Australian swim stars ever match Dawn Fraser’s historic feat?
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