Emma McKeon says her confidence is still high heading into what is confirmed to be her final Olympics later this year but admits a new crop of swimmers are putting pressure on her to stay at her peak.
The 30-year-old took a short break from the sport after the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and considered retirement.
It was widely assumed by swimmers and coaches that McKeon would not make it to the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, given her age, and that was confirmed this week by the reigning 50m and 100m freestyle champion.
“This will definitely be my last Olympics, so I’m excited for that,” McKeon told Olympics.com. “Success for me in Paris would be to swim faster than I ever have before.”
McKeon has been racing this week at the Australian Open Swimming Championships on the Gold Coast, but hasn’t been dominating races like she has in years gone by. She finished third in the 100m freestyle, more than a second outside her personal best, and third in the 50m freestyle.
Emma McKeon after racing in the women’s 50m freestyle at the Australian Open Swimming Championships this week. Credit: Getty Images
McKeon did take out the 50m butterfly, but it is not an Olympic event.
Like other swimmers, McKeon is still in heavy training, so times this week do not serve as a perfect gauge of how they are tracking. It would be unwise to back against McKeon, who boasts 11 medals from two Olympic campaigns.
McKeon must finish in the top two in races at Australia’s Olympic trials in June if she wants an individual spot on the team but does have the fallback of relays.
“My training has been going well; I’m really happy with it,” McKeon said.
Olympian Emma McKeon. Credit: Getty
“It’s probably been the best it’s been since Tokyo, so I’m really happy with how that’s going. The racing [results] haven’t shown what I thought they would this meet.
“I’m 30 in a month, so I’ve got to get used to everything is changing and I think I have to be happy that my training is holding up to the level that it was in Tokyo. I’ve just got to rest my body to race fast.
“The confidence is still there, but I’ve kind of got to keep positive when you’ve got these young ones coming through.”
The women’s 100m freestyle will be the most hotly contested race at the Australian trials, with the likes of McKeon, Mollie O’Callaghan, Shayna Jack, Meg Harris, Cate Campbell and Bronte Campbell all vying for a top two spot.
McKeon holds the Australian record (51.96), but O’Callaghan is a two-time world champion (2022 and 2023) in the event.
“Yeah it [Australia’s depth] is crazy,” McKeon said. “It’s the same across the world really. Come [the trials], it’s going to be exciting and it’s definitely kept me pushing really hard in training. I think that’s a good thing.”
Asked if there was a finality about the next few months, given this will be her final Olympics, McKeon said: “I try not to think about it. Every day I am turning up to training the same way I was leading into Tokyo and trying to get the best out of myself.”
