Tokyo: On a day when Caeleb Dressel clinched his fifth Tokyo Olympics gold, Australian Emma Mckeon went two steps ahead to finish her journey in the Japanese capital with an astonishing seven gold medals. She is also the first Australian to achieve the feat.
Like Dressel, Mckeon started the day powering Australia to women’s 50m freestyle victory in an Olympic record time of 23.81s. Sarah Sjoestroem (24.07s) of Sweden took silver and Rio 50m champion Pernille Blume (24.21s) of Denmark bronze.
How it started, how it's going.
More history made at #Tokyo2020 as @emma_mckeon becomes the most successful Australian athlete at the #Olympics
She's now the first Aussie with with 1⃣1⃣ Olympic medals 🔥
You absolute ripper 🥇 pic.twitter.com/bQbeHgzJhk
— #Tokyo2020 (@Tokyo2020) August 1, 2021
She then led Australia’s victory in the women’s 4×100 medley relay in 3.51:60s alongside Kaylee McKeown, Chelsea Hodges and Cate Campbell. The USA’s Regan Smith, Lydia Jacoby, Torri Huske and Abbey Weitzeil took silver in 3.51:73s while the Canadian quartet of Kylie Masse, Sydney Pickrem, Margaret Macneil and Penny Oleksiak bagged bronze in 3.52:60s.
The 27-year-old girl from Brisbane also became the first female swimmer to win seven medals at a single Olympics. So far Mckeon has won five gold, two silver and four bronze medals eclipsing.
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.
