After earning the Young Australian of the Year nomination for her state of Queensland last November, 29-year-old Emma McKeon has now been named the overall Young Australian of the Year for the entire nation of Australia.
The award has been given by the National Australia Day Council annually since 1979 and recognizes those aged 16 to 30 who are considered to be exceptional young Australians. Olympic legend Ian Thorpe earned the award in 2000.
On her recognition, McKeon said, “I’m so honored and humbled to receive this award. It is a privilege to be alongside all of the other nominees.
“I’m a very proud Australian and honored to be recognized by my country and thankful for everyone who has supported me throughout my career.
“I’ve been swimming for as long as I can remember and I grew up being inspired by incredible athletes which put a fire in my belly to go after my dreams and do something great with the power of determination and hard work.”
As a message to young athletes, McKeon said, “Don’t be afraid to go after hard things and set aspirational goals that at times may be scary. This is how we push ourselves to achieve our dreams.”
McKeon is the most successful Australian Olympian of all time At the 2020 Olympics, McKeon became the first female swimmer and just the second woman in history to earn seven medals in a single Games.
She is also the most decorated Commonwealth Games gold medalist of all time.
What’s with all the negs?
Aside from being an amazing swimmer, she’s one of the most giving I’ve seen with fans. At the end of the 2022 world short course world champs in Melbourne, she (and Popovici and Titmus who was commentating) were the only ones who were going up to fans and taking photos with everyone and she literally had to get pulled away be security because they wanted to clear out the stadium
Well done, Emma!
I’m still reliving your triumphs and those of the other Aussie gold medal winners in the pool at the last Olympics via the miracle of modern technology. I have a sneaking suspicion that my PVR’s hard drive isn’t going to have nearly enough space for all the Aussie gold in Paris.
This is a big honour here, and Emma has been widely praised in the media.
Great reward to a quiet achiever of huge talent and class.