Tokyo Olympics 2021: Emma McKeon equals Australian medal record as Aussies grab bronze in 4x100 mixed medley relay
Emma McKeon equalled Australia's medal record held by Ian Thorpe and Leisel Jones, winning her ninth Olympic medal after the Australians took home bronze in the 100m mixed medley relay.
In an event making its Olympic debut and fascinating for the different strategies used, Australia's team of Kaylee McKeown (backstroke), Zac Stubblety-Cook (breaststroke), Matt Temple (butterfly) and McKeon (freestyle) fought hard after falling behind teams who began the opening leg of the race with men.
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McKeown finished her backstroke leg in fifth place with the four swimmers in front of her all male. Australia remained outside medal contention in the second leg, when Stubblety-Cook completed his 100m of breaststroke before a huge effort from Temple in the butterfly leg gave the Aussies a chance to fight for a medal.
Emma McKeon in action on Saturday. Getty
McKeon came home on the anchor leg in 51.73 seconds to have Australia third at the end - 1.37 seconds behind Great Britain, who took gold ahead of China in a world record time of 3:37.58. McKeon was just 0.09 off snatching silver from China's Junxuan Yang.
McKeon took part in the final just minutes after finishing the women's 50m freestyle semi-finals, breaking the Olympic record.
"We knew it was going to be quick," McKeon said after the race.
"I think on the timeline it was like a six-minute break which sounds pretty quick, but we train for that and we do a lot more than that in training. So I knew I could handle it and the fact that it's a relay, that gets you up anyway.
Bronze medalists Kaylee McKeown, Zac Stubblety-Cook, Matthew Temple and Emma McKeon of Team Australia pose during the medal ceremony for the Mixed 4 x 100m Medley Relay Final at Tokyo Aquatics Centre on July 31, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images) Getty
"A mixed relay you don't know where you're sitting. I knew the girl on the other side of me from the Netherlands, she was going last in freestyle so I knew I could kind of go off her rather than focusing on Dressel coming up behind me."
McKeon is now level with Thorpe, who won five gold, three silver and a bronze; and Jones who bagged three gold, five silver and a bronze.
Tomorrow McKeon has the chance to become the first Australian to win 10 Olympic career medals - and the first to win six medals at a single Games - in the 50m freestyle. She's favourite to take gold after breaking the Olympic record in her semi-final before the mixed medley relay final.
TOKYO, JAPAN - JULY 31: (L-R) Gold medalists Adam Peaty, James Guy, Anna Hopkin and Kathleen Dawson of Team Great Britain poses during the medal ceremony for the Mixed 4 x 100m Medley Relay Final at Tokyo Aquatics Centre on July 31, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) Getty
America finished fifth after Lydia Jacoby's goggles fell off during her breaststroke leg.
The Americans tried a different strategy than everyone else, going with megastar Caeleb Dressel on the anchor while the other seven teams all closed with a woman. It backfired badly.
When 18-year-old Torri Huske passed off to Dressel after the butterfly leg, the Americans were more than seven seconds behind the leaders in last place.
That was too daunting even for the world's greatest male swimmer. Dressel turned in the fastest time, of course, but it wasn't nearly enough to chase down all the teams ahead of him.
- with AP
