7th Heaven: Aussie Mckeon Leaves Tokyo with 7 Swim Medals

Emma Mckeon, of Australia, poses after winning the gold medal in the women's 50-meter freestyle final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 1, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP)
Emma Mckeon, of Australia, poses after winning the gold medal in the women's 50-meter freestyle final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 1, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP)
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7th Heaven: Aussie Mckeon Leaves Tokyo with 7 Swim Medals

Emma Mckeon, of Australia, poses after winning the gold medal in the women's 50-meter freestyle final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 1, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP)
Emma Mckeon, of Australia, poses after winning the gold medal in the women's 50-meter freestyle final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 1, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP)

Emma McKeon won two more gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday, making the Australian the first woman to earn seven medals in swimming at a single games.

She set an Olympic record to win the 50-meter freestyle in 23.81 seconds, completing the sprint double after her victory in the 100.

Thirty minutes later, McKeon dived back in the pool to win again, this time as part of Australia’s 4×100 medley relay. They trailed the Americans after her butterfly leg, but anchor Cate Campbell sprinted past Abbey Weitzeil to clinch the victory with an Olympic-record time.

“I feel like it has been a bit of a roller coaster getting a gold medal and trying to keep the emotions at bay,” McKeon said. “It will take a while to sink in because I’ve been focusing on myself to keep my cool.”

McKeon leaves Tokyo with four golds and three bronze, tying the record for most medals won by a woman at a single games set by Soviet gymnast Maria Gorokhovskaya in 1952 in Helsinki.

“I’ve never really looked at the stats of medal counts,” she said. “It is an honor because I know I’ve worked so hard for it.”

The 27-year-old from Brisbane comes from a swimming family. She and her brother, David, were the first brother-sister duo since 1960 to swim for Australia at the Olympics five years ago in Rio. That’s where McKeon won four medals — one gold, two silvers and a bronze. Her father, Ron, was a swimmer who runs a learn-to-swim center south of Sydney.

McKeon watched the Olympics as a youngster.

“I grew up wanting to do a similar same thing,” she said.

McKeon’s efforts on the last day at the Tokyo pool mirrored that of American star Caeleb Dressel. They both won the 50 free and swam the butterfly leg on victorious relays.

McKeon touched in 23.81 seconds in the 50 free. In the medley relay, the Aussies beat the two-time defending champion Americans.

“I don’t know how she does it. I’m exhausted,” said Kyle Chalmers, one of the McKeon’s teammates. “To win one gold medal or an Olympic medal, it’s very, very special. We’re lucky to have her on the team.”



Sinner, Djokovic in Opposite Halves at Australian Open, Sabalenka vs Stephens in 1st Round

09 January 2025, Australia, Melbourne: Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka (L) and Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner pose with Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup and the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup during the draw for the 2025 Australian Open tennis tournament, at Melbourne Park, Melbourne. Photo: Joel Carrett/AAP/dpa
09 January 2025, Australia, Melbourne: Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka (L) and Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner pose with Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup and the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup during the draw for the 2025 Australian Open tennis tournament, at Melbourne Park, Melbourne. Photo: Joel Carrett/AAP/dpa
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Sinner, Djokovic in Opposite Halves at Australian Open, Sabalenka vs Stephens in 1st Round

09 January 2025, Australia, Melbourne: Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka (L) and Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner pose with Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup and the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup during the draw for the 2025 Australian Open tennis tournament, at Melbourne Park, Melbourne. Photo: Joel Carrett/AAP/dpa
09 January 2025, Australia, Melbourne: Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka (L) and Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner pose with Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup and the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup during the draw for the 2025 Australian Open tennis tournament, at Melbourne Park, Melbourne. Photo: Joel Carrett/AAP/dpa

Defending champion Jannik Sinner and 10-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic have landed in opposite sides of the draw for the season’s first major, ruling out a replay of last year’s semifinal match.
Sinner upset Djokovic in the semifinals at the Australian Open last year before coming back to beat Daniil Medvedev in the final 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 for his first Grand Slam singles title.
Top-ranked Sinner has a first-round match against Nicolas Jarry and also has Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton and Medvedev in his quarter of the draw. Fritz will open against fellow American Jenson Brooksby.
Djokovic and No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz could meet in the quarterfinals, with a possible semifinal against No. 2 Alexander Zverev.
At the draw Thursday to set the brackets for the singles fields, defending champions Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka walked into the official ceremony holding thei trophies.
Sabalenka won her second consecutive title at Melbourne Park in 2024 by defeating Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-2 in the final. Sabalenka will be attempting to win a third consecutive women’s singles title at Melbourne Park, something last accomplished by Martina Hingis from 1997 to 1999.
Sabalenka drew a tough opening match against 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens and has 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva and Zheng in her section.
“I have a lot of great memories and to be back here ... as a two-time Australian Open champion, it’s definitely something special,” Sabalenka, who won the Brisbane International title last week, said at the draw ceremony. “I hope that I can keep doing what I’m doing here in Australia.”
Third-seeded Coco Gauff is a potential semifinal rival for Sabalenka. Gauff has a challenging first-round match against former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin and is in the same section of the draw as seventh-seeded Jessica Pegula.
The Australian Open starts Sunday morning in Melbourne (Saturday night EST) and will run for 15 days.
Djokovic will be playing in his first event alongside new coach Andy Murray, his former on-court rival and a three-time major champion. Nobody has won the men's title at Melbourne Park more often than Djokovic, although he said he still feels trauma from the one year he wasn’t allowed to play.
Nick Kyrgios, the 2022 Wimbledon runner-up who withdrew from an exhibition against Djokovic this week because of an abdominal strain, will face Jacob Fearnley in the first round if the mercurial Australian is fit enough to contest his first major since the 2022 US Open. Kyrgios is in the same section as Zverev.