Paris Olympics 2024: Cody Simpson ‘so proud’ of partner Emma McKeon after making Australian gold medal history
Cody Simpson may well have been speaking for all of Australia when he beamed with pride talking about superstar partner Emma McKeon and her “unreal” achievement of becoming the nation’s most prolific gold medal winner.
McKeon etched her place in Australian Olympic history by breaking a tie with Ian Thorpe and standing alone with six gold medals after swimming the penultimate leg in the 4x100m freestyle relay victory on day one in Paris.
The 30-year-old teamed up with Mollie O’Callaghan, Shayna Jack and Meg Harris to romp to victory, sparking scenes of celebration among the quartet.
McKeon embraced Simpson, the musician turned professional swimmer who almost qualified for the Games himself, poolside as the weight of her achievement began to sink in.
“We are all proud of her,” Simpson said on Nine.
“She’ll be so humble about it. She’ll never say it herself, but it’s pretty special what she’s done.
“It’s unreal. She had a blistering swim this morning – she really wanted to be in that final and get on that podium.
“I’m so proud of her for getting that done.”
Camera IconMcKeon and Simpson embrace. Credit: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images
McKeon had indeed been humble in talking about the achievement, heaping praise on her teammates – including heat swimmers Bronte Campbell and Olivia Wunsch – and admitting she had not realised the victory meant she surpassed Thorpe.
“Wow. I don’t keep track of those sort of stats,” she said.
“To be part of the four-by-one (relay) — it’s extremely hard. This is a team of six, with Bronte and Liv… we couldn’t have done it without this group of six.
“Everyone wants to be part of this four-by-one free. I feel really honoured to be part of it.”
McKeon’s success was one of three gold medals and two silver medals on a superb opening day of the Games for the Aussies in Paris, with Ariarne Titmus saluting in the women’s 400m freestyle after Grace Brown had earlier prevailed in the cycling individual road time trial.
Simpson said the women’s 4x100m freestyle stranglehold on gold was something to behold, with wins in the past four Olympics.
“It’s special. They’re so strong,” he said.
“It’s so hard for any country to match the depth that we have.”
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