'Incredible': Aussie swimmers clinch best Olympics campaign ever
Cate Campbell has clinched Australia's most successful swimming campaign in Olympic Games history, securing our ninth gold medal in the pool in Tokyo.
Campbell produced an incredible anchor swim in the 4x100m medley relay to secure gold for Australia.
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The victory by Kaylee McKeown, Chelsea Hodges, Emma McKeon and Campbell makes Australia's Tokyo swim team the nation's most successful in Olympic history.
The ninth swimming gold medal surpassed the previous record of eight set at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne.
They also won 21 medals overall - one more than the previous benchmark from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
Australia won Sunday's medley relay in three minutes 51.60 seconds, with the United States (3:51.73) taking the silver medal and Canada (3:52.60) the bronze.
It gave Campbell her second gold of the Games and fourth in her Olympic career.
The Australians were second behind the United States for the initial three legs, before Campbell produced a sizzling last freestyle leg of 52.11 seconds to overtake the Americans and held on in a desperate final five metres.
Her gold medal-clinching swim had fans around the country in awe.
Australia GOLD🥇4x100 Medley Relay!
What an incredible anchor swim from Cate Campbell to touch out the Americans on the line! #Tokyo2020 #Olympics— Mark Gottlieb (@MarkGottlieb) August 1, 2021
Amazing from the Australians, Cate Campbell heroic in what may be her final swim in the Olympic pool, immense from McKeon, Hodges hung so tough, they win in a new OR and that is the BEST Games ever for an Australian swimming team with nine golds #Tokyo2020
— Phil Lutton (@phillutton78) August 1, 2021
Unsung hero Chelsea Hodges just said she knew it would largely come down to her leg and had to swim the race of her life. Job done. Cate Campbell said hold was great, just beating arch-rival USA makes it just that fraction sweeter #tomyo
— Phil Lutton (@phillutton78) August 1, 2021
CATE CAMPBELL BRINGS IT HOME FOR AUSTRALIA IN AN OLYMPIC RECORD!! 🥇
What an incredible swim for the relay girls and Cate Campbell gets her gold!!!#Tokyo2020 #Swimming— Lachlan McKirdy (@LMcKirdy7) August 1, 2021
Huge effort, our most successful campaign in the pool. Awesome to see Cate Campbell swim so well, Kaylee McKeown third Gold, first Medal for Chelsea Hodges, and Emma backing up from her 50m free win to add another Gold to the collection. Amazing. #Tokyo2020 @AUSOlympicTeam https://t.co/XeigsbX4Za
— Spiro Christopoulos (@schristop02) August 1, 2021
Emma Mckeon matched stroke for stroke in the butterfly. Chelsea Hodges was brilliant. And Cate Campbell just went straight into fifth gear. INSANE SWIM #Tokyo2020
— Davis Harrigan🦁 (@DeadlineDavis) August 1, 2021
Emma McKeon makes incredible Olympic Games history
McKeon swum the butterfly leg in the medley relay, winning her fourth gold medal and seventh overall at the Tokyo Games.
In doing so, she became the first female swimmer and second in any sport to win seven medals at one Games.
She has now won 11 Olympic medals in her career, breaking the previous Australian record of nine held by Ian Thorpe and Leisel Jones.
McKeon also won gold in the 50m freestyle earlier on Sunday in an Olympic record of 23.81 seconds.
Her career haul of five gold, two silver and four bronze eclipses swim greats Thorpe (five gold, three silver, one bronze) and Jones (three gold, five silver, one bronze).
She also joins Thorpe as the only Australians in history to win five gold medals.
Both Thorpe and Jones were gushing in their praise for McKeon in commentary.
"She has been dominant, she has been brilliant, she has been fantastic," Thorpe told Channel 7.
"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."
Jones said McKeon's technique was perfection.
"Just to see Emma McKeon lift, she holds so much water and pulls away from the pack, which just makes her unbeatable in an event in the sprint freestyle at the moment," she said.
"She executed that beautifully from start to finish."
The 27-year-old also became just the fourth female swimmer to complete the 50-100m freestyle golden double at an Olympics.
with AAP
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