Aussie Olympic hero's blunt warning for rivals

2 years ago 336

Australian Olympic leader Emma McKeon says she has nary volition of cutting backmost her tremendous workload successful the pool, arsenic she turns her attraction to the 2024 Games.

McKeon claimed 7 medals successful Tokyo, 4 of them gold, taking her vocation tally to 11 medals. That makes her Australia's astir palmy Olympian, a statement that she admits is inactive "a spot weird".

Where her tally ends up is anybody's guess, with the 27-year-old telling Wide World of Sports that she's intent connected swimming astatine slightest until Paris successful two-and-a-half years' time.

"I decidedly privation to spell to different Olympics, that's what volition person maine motivated successful a mates of months' clip to spell again," she said, noting that the 3 years betwixt Tokyo and Paris made the determination easier.

"That's not arsenic overwhelming, but I conjecture thing is amended than the five-year hold we had this clip astir from Rio (to Tokyo)."

"That took a batch of adjusting, and it was truthful overwhelming, due to the fact that I'd been truthful focused, and for it to beryllium abruptly cancelled was hard to take.

"But my squad was truly good, they knew I'd person ups and downs with my information done that other 12-month wait. But everyone was successful the aforesaid boat, we didn't person immoderate power implicit it, it was conscionable astir however each idiosyncratic handled it."

McKeon is presently enjoying her archetypal decent interruption since 2016, erstwhile she took 3 months disconnected aft Rio. This clip around, it's a mates of months to footwear backmost and bask the Australian summer, and bespeak connected each she's achieved.

"I decidedly volition look back, but not guardant conscionable yet," she said.

"I won't usage the clip to reset my goals, I cognize I've inactive got a batch of improving to do, and that's wherever my information comes from, it's wherefore I privation to support going.

"But holidays aren't the clip to reset your goals, I consciousness similar that's conscionable a fast-track to disaster, aft you've conscionable reached your extremity and worked truthful hard to scope it, you request a interruption earlier you absorption connected thing else, it's truthful important for your intelligence health.

"So overmuch of swimming is focusing connected what's next. I truly privation to bask this portion of my life, and beryllium arrogant of what I've done and walk the clip with the radical who helped maine get there."

McKeon hasn't stopped swimming since Tokyo, isolated from a mates of weeks successful quarantine successful Howard Springs instantly aft the Olympics. It's wherefore this play is truthful important to her, fixed the crowded calendar that beckons erstwhile again successful 2022.

Fukuoka successful Japan volition big the satellite championships successful May, and that's followed by the Commonwealth Games successful Birmingham, starting successful late-July.

McKeon's packed docket had her successful the excavation each time astatine the Olympics, and slowing down is not thing she's considering immoderate clip soon.

Pressed connected whether she mightiness standard backmost her workload successful future, McKeon saw nary crushed to bash so.

"I'm utilized to it and I consciousness similar I'm good prepared for specified a dense workload," she explained.

"All the events I bash are besides relay events, and I emotion those truthful overmuch I wouldn't privation to driblet immoderate of them."

In the meantime she'll bask her break, teaming up with Surf Life Saving Australia and Nutri-Grain to promote Australians to aquatics betwixt the flags this summer.

"The extremity is to guarantee radical are alert of however to find their nearest patrolled beach," she said.

"You tin scan the QR codification which takes you to beachsafe.org.au and you can't participate the postcode of wherever you are, and you'll beryllium directed to the patrolled beaches.

"It's trying to marque definite radical cognize however to enactment harmless this summer."

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