Wollongong showed how proud it is of golden girl Emma McKeon early on Sunday afternoon.
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Many people not only tuned in to watch Emma and her team mates win the 4x100 freestyle relay in world record time on TV. They also kept an eye on a live Facebook feed of the family back home watching Emma swim for gold on the other side of the world.
Her cousins and aunty and uncle received many messages of encouragement from people watching them watch the race from a Mount St Thomas lounge room.
While Emma was swimming for gold in Rio her mother Susie McKeon was poolside and her father Ron McKeon was a short distance away ready to help his daughter and the Australian swim team celebrate.
The family in Wollongong were sitting on the edge of their seats as she swum the opening leg beautifully. They had gathered together just after 11 to first watch Emma’s brother David McKeon finish seventh in the final of the men’s 400m freestyle.
They then waited patiently for Emma to hit the water with her team mates Brittany Elmsie and sisters Bronte and Cate Campbell.
All were quietly confident yet a little nervous as the race started. Even six week old baby cousin Rikki McKeon watched the television screen with great interest.
The youngest McKeon is now likely to have a gold medal winning coach when she starts following the family swimming tradition in about six months.
Even the family dog was keen to be involved by looking at the television and barking with excitement several times. Immediately after the race tears of joy were clearly visible and continued to flow during the national anthem.
But soon after it did not take too much encouragement to convince the family to break into a rendition of Aussie, Aussie, Aussie.
They also shouted out a huge “congratulations” for a video that will hopefully be seen by Emma and the relay team.
“It was absolutely brilliant. We are on top of the world. And we loved sharing it live with Wollongong which has provided so much support to our family,” Mike said.
He said the win would definitely motivate the whole team including David and Emma to aspire for more medals.
They were all impressed with David’s form in his final. Mike said Emma was “a possibility in the 4 x 100 IM..and “have a really good shot for the 200 metre freestyle.”
They thought Emma would be on a really big high now so anything was possible.
Emma McKeon’s lifelong friend so happy for her humble mate
When Emma McKeon hit the pool for the first time in the 2016 Olympics just after 2am on Sunday one of the people watching was her lifelong friend Dominique Tobin.
Speaking afterwards Ms Tobin, 21, said she was not surprised her great mate had won gold in her first Olympic campaign but she knew she would be as humble about it as she always was about any of her success.
“We actually went to daycare together and have been friends pretty much since we were toddlers. We went to swimming lessons together and we went through squads together. We have been best friends ever since,” she said.
Ms Tobin said they had been inseparable since they were little and Emma sent her a message at 4am Australian time on Sunday saying she was nervous but ready for her big day after getting her first race out of the way.
“I always knew Em would become an Olympian. Even when we were little her dedication to swimming was incredible..she is inspiring. She was just so determined to get to the top but at the same time she is one of the most humble people I have ever met. It is such a beautiful quality to have..to be that talented and at the same time to be so modest about it,” she said.
Ms Tobin said she stayed up past 2am to watch her friend’s first swim and was fixed in front of the television again at 12.20pm on Sunday. “As always I was yelling at the TV screen. It is such a surreal thing. She is halfway around the world but there you are finding yourself jumping up and down. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. I am so happy for her. She has worked so incredible hard and she has had to sacrifice a lot over the years. There isn’t anyone more deserving. I couldn’t be happier for her,” she said.
Ms Tobin said she was looking forward to her friend Em returning to Australia because leading up to the Olympics she had been living and training in Brisbane and will soon be coming home to Wollongong for a while.
“Which is really good because we will be able to spend some time together. It will be nice to have her home,” she said.
But she knows she might have to share her friend with more people now she is an Olympic gold medalist. Because everyone is going to want to talk to her.
“Today has been so exciting. To have one of your best friends not just representing Australia but representing Australia at the Olympics...then to not only get the gold but break the world record...it is phenomenal.”
Ms Tobin sent her friend two message on Sunday. One at 2.30am to say how well she had swum and spoken afterwards in an interview. And then another after she won gold.
