Australian swimmer and 14-time Olympic medalist Emma McKeon announces her retirement.
Sports
On November 25, 2024, Emma Jennifer McKeon, a 30-year-old Australian swimmer and Olympic medalist, announced her retirement from competitive swimming. She won a gold medal in the 4 x 100-meter (m) freestyle relay at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which was her final Olympic Games.
- Emma McKeon holds the Australian record for winning 14 Olympic medals, which includes six gold medals, three silver, and five bronze. She earned these medals across the Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020, and Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
- She is second only to American swimmer Katie Ledecky (who has 14 Olympic medals, including 9 gold) for the most Olympic swimming gold medals won by a female swimmer.
- Emma McKeon, who specializes in freestyle and butterfly races of 200 meters or less, competed in the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she won 4 medals (1 gold, 2 silver, and 1 bronze), and along with her brother David McKeon, made history as the first brother and sister to swim for Australia at the same Olympic Games in 56 years.
Main Point :- (i) At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Emma McKeon won 7 medals (4 gold and 3 bronze), becoming the first female swimmer and the second woman in history to win 7 medals in a single Olympics.
(ii) McKeon’s total of 11 Olympic medals surpassed the previous Australian record of 9 medals, held by Ian Thorpe and Leisel Jones, and in 2022, she was honored with the Member of the Order of Australia (AM) award, while in 2023, she was named the Gold Coast Young Australian of the Year.
(iii) In the 2024 Paris Olympics, Emma McKeon won 3 more medals (1 gold, 1 silver, and 1 bronze), bringing her total to 20 Commonwealth Games medals (including 14 golds) and 20 World Aquatics Championships medals, while also breaking the record for the most Commonwealth Games medals in 2022 with 6 golds.
____________________________
