'She can go on': Thorpe predicts further greatness after McKeon smashes Australian Olympic records

Emma McKeon won two gold medals on Sunday to go ahead of legends Ian Thorpe and Liesel Jones as Australia’s most decorated Olympian in any sport ever, and equalled a 69-year old record for females at the Olympics.

The swimming star claimed gold in the 50m freestyle final and the 4x100m medley realy at the Tokyo Games for her tenth and 11th Olympic medals, two more than Thorpe and Jones achieved.

She also went to five golds – equall with Thorpe as the most ever Olympic gold medals in Olympics, and he said she could shatter that in Paris in three years time.

“She can go on,” said Thorpe. “She’s never been in better form. I hope she goes on for another three years.”

Seven of her medals have come at these Games. Only one other female has won seven medals at a single Olympics – Soviet gymnast Maria Gorokhovskaya in 1952.

Channel 7 reported that if McKeon was a country, she would be 18th on the medal table.

Her time in the 50m of 23.81s was an Olympic record, shattering her own benchmark of 24 seconds set just yesterday in the semi-finals and extending her remarkable legacy even further.

“This has most definitely been Emma McKeon’s meet. She has been dominant: She’s been brilliant. She’s been fantastic,” Thorpe said on Channel 7.

“And it has been a pleasure to watch. She skips across the water in a way that we don’t often see. She’s quite slight in her physicality but the way that she’s able to move through the water is impressive.”

Countrywoman Cate Campbell finished in seventh with a time of 24.36s – and then brought home the medley relay team for gold with a stunning last leg.

Australia has now won a gold medal every day at the Tokyo Aquatic Centre and Australia’s women now have a golden sweep of the 50, 100, 200, 400 and 4×100 freestyle.