After lately saying her retirement from the game, Australian Emma McKeon closed out her swimming profession with fairly the glory: representing the continent of Oceania on the closing ceremonies.
At this 12 months’s closing ceremony, Tony Estanguet, a three-time Olympic champion in canoe slalom, delivered a rousing speech to a crowd of onlookers within the Stade de France, which hosted rugby sevens and monitor and discipline. His speech rallied the viewers, thanking everybody who was concerned, and turned a highlight on the successes of the video games. He even acknowledged the host nation’s current success within the pool, saying:
“We needed sturdy photos, our competitors venues will go down within the historical past of the Video games. We needed pleasure, we bought ardour. We needed to be impressed, we bought Léon Marchand.”
Estanguet, the President of this 12 months’s Olympics, was joined on stage by a consultant from every of the inhabited continents in addition to a consultant from the Refugee Olympic Group.
One very acquainted determine was featured subsequent to Estanguet as he delivered his speech: Australia’s most embellished swimmer of all time, Emma McKeon. The ceremony’s announcer within the enviornment highlighted every athlete by their identify, sport, and profession Olympic medals– leaving out their nation of origin, as a substitute electing to announce the athletes by their continents (in line with the Olympic spirit of unity and togetherness). Becoming a member of McKeon in representing the world had been as follows:
- Eliud Kipchoge, athletics, representing Africa: Two gold medals, one silver medal, one bronze medal
- Mijaín López, Wrestling, representing the Americas: 5 gold medals
- Solar Yingsha, Desk Tennis, representing Asia: Three gold medals, two silver medals
- Teddy Riner, Judo, representing Europe: 5 gold medals, two silver medals
- Cindy Ngamba, representing the Refugee Group: One bronze medal
Like McKeon, each Eliud Kipchoge and Mijaín Lopez introduced their retirement following this 12 months’s video games. Kipchoge is a former world file holder within the males’s marathon, and López is a three-time Olympic champion wrestling within the 130kg weight class and a two-time Olympic champion wrestling within the 120kg weight class.
The Australian ladies’s swimming staff continued their legacy of excellence this 12 months within the pool, and it reveals by means of McKeon being chosen to symbolize the continent in addition to Kaylee McKeown being chosen because the nation’s feminine flag bearer for the closing ceremony. Australia’s determination to appoint McKeown over McKeon ruffled some feathers amongst followers, as many thought the glory ought to have gone to McKeon, the nation’s most embellished Olympian. It seems that the extra prestigious honor ended within the fingers of Emma McKeon, who performed a bigger position within the ceremony. Alongside the 5 different continental representatives and Leon Marchand, the Australian celebrity extinguished the Olympic flame, formally closing out the Paris Olympics and “passing the torch” to Los Angeles for the 2028 Video games. Marchand was initially poised to be France’s closing flag bearer, however as a substitute was appointed to ship the flame from the Tuileries Backyard to the Stade de France.
McKeon was one of many high swimmers on the Tokyo video games, profitable seven medals, together with 4 gold. She now holds six gold medals, three silver medals, and 5 bronze medals, incomes yet one more of every coloration in Paris. At this 12 months’s video games, she positioned first within the 4×100 freestyle relay, second within the 4×100 medley relay, third within the blended 4×100 medley relay (swimming prelims), and sixth within the 100 butterfly to spherical out her illustrious profession.
