If any athlete has the right to be self-indulgent, it is Australia’s most decorated Olympian Emma McKeon, but she remains the most humble champion, unwilling even to put herself in the same league as someone like Ian Thorpe. She did, however, allow herself one luxury as she emerged from the water after her last individual swim for Australia, in the 100m butterfly final at the Paris Olympic Games.
It was just minutes after Leon Marchand had won France’s first gold medal, sending the crowd at La Defense Arena into orbit, and the atmosphere was still electric. McKeon, who had finished seventh in the 100m butterfly, gave herself a moment to take it all in. She spotted her mother Susie, father Ron, brother David and sister Kaitlin in the crowd and gave them a wave before she stepped off the stage.
