The swimming star has been named both the Illawarra Mercury Sportsperson of the Year and the People's Choice winner.

The honours come after a year in which McKeon became Australia's most decorated Olympian, winning a record seven medals in Tokyo, including four gold.

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In winning the two awards, McKeon beat out a host of talented athletes, including Caitlin Foord, Alex Volkanovski and Brian Goorjian.

While her training base is on the Gold Coast, the 27-year-old still considers Wollongong home and she said it was a proud moment to be recognised by the people of the Illawarra.

"It's an honour to receive this," McKeon said. "There's a lot of incredible athletes in the Illawarra. To represent Wollongong is special, I grew up here and still call it home.

"I hope I did the Illawarra proud. A lot of people have said to me since I got home that with lockdown during the Olympics, it gave everyone something to watch.

"The Olympics got them through lockdown, to me that's very important. I know it wasn't an easy period for a lot of people."

While much of the attention prior to the Olympics was on Australian teammate Ariarne Titmus and her looming battle with American star Katie Ledecky, McKeon arrived in Tokyo as one of Australia's biggest gold-medal contenders.

Long considered a relay specialist, the swimmer had her eyes set on a breakthrough individual victory.

It didn't take long for it to become clear she was on track to achieve this goal, McKeon swimming a lightning-fast split to help Australia to victory in the 4x100m freestyle final.

That swim gave her the confidence she needed heading into the individual 100m freestyle final and she comfortably took care of business, becoming just the second person to crack the 52-second barrier.

"Winning the 100m freestyle was my biggest moment, it's what I'm most proud of. It's what I had my eyes on for so long. To hold myself together for so long and to pull it off, it's something I'm proud of.

"I had maintained my self belief and I knew when I stood behind the blocks that I had done everything I could. From there, I just needed to stick to what I needed to do.

"I'm proud of myself for pulling it off in the moment, it was the hardest moment for me."

McKeon ultimately finished the Olympics with gold medals in the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle relay and 4x100m medley relay. She also won bronze in the 100m butterfly, women's 4x200m relay and mixed 4x100m medley relay.

While she briefly returned to Wollongong after completing a stint in hotel quarantine, the swimmer was soon back on the road and setting more records.

McKeon spent three months dominating her rivals in the International Swimming League and FINA World Cup series, finishing on top of the overall World Cup standings.

The results capped off a year in which she went from being the hunter to the hunted, but McKeon's approach to swimming will remain the same in 2022.

"My mindset won't really change. I've always been a hard worker, I know the amount of work it takes to be at that level.

"I just want to keep improving, getting faster and faster. I'll have the same work ethic as I've always had to achieve that."