He has close mate and Illawarra swimming royalty Ron McKeon – a two-time Olympian – to thank for it too.

Housemates at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra at the time, McKeon has enlisted Bohl and half-a-dozen other elite training partners to join the Wollongong Whales Swimming Club at the Continental Baths, the region’s equivalent of the famous Bondi Icebergs. 

The friendship has lasted more than three decades and Bohl, the Australian swimming super coach, is now the driving force behind Emma and David McKeon’s charge to Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacs success this year.

Bohl has brought the Griffith University training squad, including the McKeons, to Wollongong for a four-day camp before the NSW Championships begin on Friday, less than three months before the Commonwealth Games begin.

“I haven’t been back here since then,” Bohl said.

“It was a Sunday morning and it was definitely freezing, I can still remember it.” 

Continuing the remarkable family ties, Bohl’s daughter Georgia is also part of the training squad, after competing at her first Olympics in Rio in 2016.

The McKeons used the University of Wollongong pool, where they trained on Tuesday, as a regular base before their move to Brisbane in 2014.

Emma McKeon can set her sights on greatness at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. 

At her break-out performance at Glasgow four years ago, Emma claimed four golds and two bronze medals. 

The record stands at 10 golds, shared between swimming legends Susie O’Neill, Ian Thorpe and Leisel Jones.

O’Neill finished with 15 medals at three separate Commonwealth Games, second only to Australian shooter Phillip Adams with 18.

But the Pan Pacific Games in August will be the greatest marker for Emma’s progress, having dropped her personal best of 56.18 in the 100m butterfly, finishing second behind Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom.

“We were pretty confident she would push through the 56.5 mark, but I was a bit shocked myself when she went as quickly as she did,” Bohl said.

“Emma’s very grounded and focused on improving all the time.

“She’s had a lot of success, but when she recorded that personal best, it’s as happy I’ve seen her be about her own performance.”

Emma’s impressive form continued with four gold medals at last weekend’s Victorian titles.

For David, finding two seconds will be the greatest indicator of his chances of international medals.

In 2014, David swam a 3:43.72 at the Australian Championships 400m freestyle event, a time which would have been enough to win silver at last year’s world titles, ahead of fellow Australian Mack Horton.

David was eighth in 3.46.27. 

“The last little bloc of training has been positive, trying to find his best again,” Bohl said.

“He’s an experienced swimmer now, he knows what it takes at this level and if he qualifies for the Commonwealth and Pan Pacs, he can achieve great things.”

The return home for the McKeons comes before the Australian Championships, which double as Commonwealth Games selection trials on the Gold Coast, starting on February 28.