Emma McKeon’s next big step

In the land of Dawn Fraser, Ian Thorpe, Murray Rose and 1950s track stars Betty Cuthbert and Shirley Strickland, retiring from competitive sport as our most successful Olympian is an outstanding achievement. Sprint swimming champion Emma McKeon, who grew up in Wollongong, has no regrets about hanging up her goggles. She leaves the sport with a record 14 Olympic medals – six gold, three silver and five bronze – spanning the Rio, Tokyo and Paris Games. She is also Australia’s most successful Commonwealth Games athlete. As a team player by nature, she excelled in relays and individual events.

At 30, she is “definitely ready for the next part of my life, which I’m excited for”. In addition to her swimming career, she has a bachelor of public health from Griffith University in Queensland. McKeon’s refreshing honesty makes her an outstanding role model for young people, whatever their dreams. Based on her experience, she wants to encourage them to push hard and go after what they are passionate about. She almost quit swimming after missing selection for the 2012 London Olympics. Looking back at her 17-year-old self, she handled the disappointment well. “It’s just persisting, you have ups and you have downs,” she said. “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.” Great things, as she said, take time, and the long road “is where all the necessary things are learnt to take us to the next level”.