Birthday girl Emma McKeon comes of age with a fourth gold medal at Japan Open
Swimming Australia, May 24, 2015: Australian swim star Emma McKeon has celebrated her 21st birthday in style in Tokyo tonight – taking her Japan Open gold medal tally to four at the Tatsumi International Pool.
With her 20-strong Australian team cheering her on McKeon added the 100 metres butterfly gold to her previous wins in the 50m butterfly and the 100 and 200m freestyle double.
One of the stars of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, where she also won four gold, stopped the clock in 57.62 secs to again deliver a message to her rivals in the countdown to this year’s Fina World Championships in Kazan, Russia, in August – “she’s coming of age – and quickly.”
The Wollongong-born Brisbane-based McKeon narrowly trailed Japan’s Ikee Rikako at the 50m turn with McKeon touching in 27.08 to Rikako’s 26.76 but the reigning Australian champion and Glasgow bronze medallist stormed home to record a comfortable win, adding the icing to her 21st cake.
McKeon’s Australian 200m butterfly champion Maddy Groves finished a solid fourth in 59.58, only just behind Rikako (58.49).
It comes 24 hours after McKeon and Rikako had dead-heated in the 50m butterfly final in 26.35 and her personal best time of 53.32 to win the 100m freestyle.
Her 100m freestyle win saw her skip past Olympic relay gold medallist Mel Schlanger to become the fourth fastest Australian behind sisters Cate and Bronte Campbell and former world record holder Libby Trickett.
McKeon won her opening gold medal of the meet in the 200 metres on night one in 1:56.79, with the performances coming a week after her stand-out performances in the opening Swimming Australia Grand Prix in Canberra last weekend.
In other performances on the final night in Tokyo, Gold Coast Fina World Championship Long Course rookie, David Morgan mixed it with the Japanese stars to finish second to Kawamoto Takeshi in the men’s 100m butterfly.
Last at the turn, Morgan flew home in a time of 52.44 to Takeshi’s 52.08 with Umemoto Masayuki third in 52.64.
Carlile’s Amy Matsuo finished third in the 50m freestyle in 25.57; Josh Beaver (5th in the 50m backstroke in 25.82); Regan Leong (8th in the 50m freestyle in 23.11).
The Australian Dolphins Swim Team will have their final domestic hit out before Kazan, when they converge on Townsville next month for Grand Prix 2.
Issued on behalf of Swimming Australia by
Ian Hanson| Media Manager
Ian Hanson| Media Manager Triathlon Australia Managing Director
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