Emma McKeon has won the 50-metres freestyle gold medal at the Tokyo Games to break Australia’s record for most Olympic career medals.
McKeon’s gold medal in Sunday’s final takes her career tally to 10, surpassing the previous Australian benchmark of nine medals by Ian Thorpe and Leisel Jones.
McKeon’s victory also delivers Australian swimmers an eighth gold medal in Tokyo, equalling the nation’s best haul at an Olympic pool from the 1956 Melbourne Games.
The 27-year-old from Wollongong won Sunday’s final in 23.81 seconds from Sweden’s Sarah Sjoestroem (24.07) and Demark’s Pernille Blume (24.21).
Australia’s Cate Campbell clocked 24.36 in the medal race.
McKeon’s career haul – four gold, two silver and four bronze – eclipses swim greats Thorpe (five gold, three silver, one bronze) and Leisel Jones (three gold, five silver, one bronze) with nine Olympic medals each.
Both Thorpe and Jones commentated on McKeon’s feat for the Seven Network.
“She has been dominant, she has been brilliant, she has been fantastic,” Thorpe said.
“It has been a pleasure to watch.
“She skips across the water in a way that we don’t often see.
“She’s quite slight in her physicality but the way that she’s able to move through the water is impressive.”
Jones said McKeon’s technique was perfection.
“Just to see Emma McKeon lift, she holds so much water and pulls away from the pack, which just makes her unbeatable in an event in the sprint freestyle at the moment,” Jones said.
“She executed that beautifully from start to finish.”
McKeon has won six medals at a triumphant Tokyo Games, becoming just the fourth female swimmer to complete the 50-100m freestyle golden double at an Olympics.
McKeon was also part of Australia’s victorious 4x100m freestyle relay and took bronze medals in the 100m butterfly, 4x200m freestyle relay and 4x100m mixed medley relay.
AAP
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