She was challenged all the way, but Emma McKeon surged home to claim gold in the 50m women's butterfly final on Tuesday morning (AEDT).
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Twenty-four hours after becoming the greatest ever Commonwealth Games athlete, Emma McKeon has set about putting further distance between herself and the rest, clinching her 12th Games gold medal.
The victory means that McKeon is now the outright Comm Games gold medallist by two from fellow Australian swimmers Ian Thorpe, Leisel Jones and Susie O'Neill. The achievement comes after the 28-year-old became the greatest medal winner in Australian Olympic history - surpassing Thorpe and Jones - and the first Australian to claim four golds at single Games last year in Tokyo.
It was McKeon's 14th race in Birmingham, and the fourth gold that she's won since arriving, adding to the four each respectively that she claimed at the 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Fellow Aussie Holly Barratt was fastest off the blocks on Tuesday morning, but McKeon drew level around the 25m mark before finishing strongly in a time of 2.590. Second place was shared between Barratt and South Africa's Erin Gallagher (both 26.05).
"I think it was just off my PB, I don't do the 50 fly very often. But that's my first medal for a 50 fly," McKeon told Channel Seven.
"Mentally, I just try and switch off [between races]. I think a huge part of it is being able to do that, but also maintain that belief in yourself across the week. And I'm lucky that I've got such a good team around me, I'm surrounded by people who see more for myself than I see for myself, which I think has helped me along the way."
Earlier, McKeon put herself in the box seat for another gold medal on Wednesday morning (AEDT) after cruising through her 100m freestyle semi-final in a time of 53.12. She will joined by fellow Aussies Mollie O'Callaghan and Shayna Jack, who went one-two in the other semi.
"I was feeling good, it was nice to get in there, that was my 12th race of the week I think, or maybe 13th," McKeon told Channel Seven.
"You kind of have to pace it out a bit but I am enjoying it. Sometimes I wish I did not have such a big workload but I think I get a bit rusty if I have a day off."
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Joshua Bartlett
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
