We're launching the campaign early, but Emma McKeon must carry the Australian flag at the opening ceremony in Paris.
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McKeon has to qualify first, but in her only media interview so far since returning home to Wollongong, the 27-year-old confirmed she wanted to add to her extraordinary, record-breaking medal tally and compete in 2024.
"Yeah, I definitely hope to be there," McKeon told the Seven Network who, as Olympics broadcaster, organised for a camera to capture her return, with parents Ron and Susie and sister Kaitlin, as well as two-time Olympian brother David.
The enormity of her achievements was starting to hit after leaving Tokyo for two weeks in Northern Territory COVID quarantine, before flying to Sydney and on to the Gong.
"It's weird, when I was packing my carry-on suitcase, I was just like, that's a lot of medals," she said.
"It's starting to (sink in), but still kind of probably not."
On Instagram, McKeon posted "After a huge rollarcoaster (sic) month full of big ups and downs, and 2 weeks in quarantine, it feels so good to be home with my family, my bed and good food. I just want to go out and celebrate but I'll be doing that from home for a bit while joining the rest of my NSW friends in lockdown xx".
Flag-bearers are beacons of achievement and longevity at the highest level and McKeon was denied the chance to carry it for Australia at the closing ceremony in Tokyo, instead flying out straight after competition.
There's an understated greatness about how McKeon became Australia's most successful Olympian, notably with the breakthrough individual golds in the feature 100 metre and 50m freestyle events.
Everything from a giant statue to renaming the Wollongong Continental Baths in her honour has been discussed as a fitting tribute, with council submissions open until Wednesday about the best way to immortalise her achievements.
"If the notion was about a statue or anything like that she would be horrified," Ron McKeon told the Mercury earlier this month.
"But I think certainly a pool or something named after her - it would certainly grow on her over the years."
McKeon may never have sought the spotlight, but her seven medals in Tokyo were shared by a region suffering under the strain of uncertainty and fear for the future.
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An Illawarra-South Coast community which is proud of its greatest-ever Olympics performance after Berry's Shane Rose earned silver in the teams equestrian, Albion Park's Blake Govers and Wollongong's Flynn Ogilvie shared in the Kookaburras' breakthrough silver and Culburra/Thirroul's Owen Wright won inaugural surfing bronze.
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