James Magnussen's eye-opening Mollie O'Callaghan claim after monumental Olympic triumph
The retired swimmer believes Mollie O'Callaghan will become Australia's greatest Olympian.
Retired Australian swimmer James Magnussen has declared that Mollie O'Callaghan will one day be regarded as Australia's greatest-ever Olympian. On Monday night, O'Callaghan showed she's the 200m freestyle queen as she proved too strong for fellow Australian Ariarne Titmus - who won gold in the 400m event two nights before.
In doing so, O'Callaghan thwarted Titmus' bid to become the only swimmer in Olympic history to successfully defend Olympic titles in both the 200m and 400m freestyles. It was the maiden individual Olympic gold medal for O'Callaghan as she added to her three relay golds.
The 21-year-old won two relay golds at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and was part of the triumphant 4x100m freestyle team in Paris on Saturday night. And Magnussen has already seen enough, boldly stating that O'Callaghan will go on to not only be Australia's greatest Olympic swimmer but the best-ever Aussie Olympian.
“I’ll call it here now Matty (Matty Johns). Mollie O’Callaghan will go on to become our greatest Olympian in history,” Magnussen said on the Matty and the Missile podcast. “I predict she’ll win the 100 free individual. They’ll (the Australian girls) win the 4 x 200 free and they’ll be right thereabouts to win the 4 x 100 IM which would end up 5 gold medals at one Olympics for one swimmer.”
Currently, Australia's most successful Olympian is fellow swimmer Emma McKeon, who has racked up an incredible 12 medals, including six golds. The 30-year-old finished sixth in the women's 100m butterfly in Paris on Monday morning (AEST) in what was her final individual Olympic swim.
McKeon, however, alongside O'Callaghan won gold at Paris in the women's 4x100m relay and will have a chance to add to her Olympic medal tally in the final event of her Olympic career in the women's 4x100m medley relay. And while O'Callaghan still has a big job ahead of her to overtake McKeon, she could leave Paris with as many as five gold medals. If she was to win gold in her remaining three events in Paris, O'Callaghan would have already won a whopping 7 gold medals, surpassing McKeon on that count.
She then could theoretically surpass McKeon on overall medals at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. And even if she doesn't rack up the medals in her remaining Paris Olympics and in Los Angeles, she will only be 29 when the Olympics heads to Brisbane in 2032.
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Mollie O'Callaghan targets more gold in Paris
O'Callaghan will return to the Paris pool on Tuesday night (AEDT) to race in the 100m freestyle heats and semi-finals, ahead of the gold-medal race the following night. She will also form part of Australia's women's 4x100m and 4x100 medley relay team in the coming days and O'Callaghan remains focussed on the job ahead after her 200m freestyle triumph.
"I've got to stay steady and calm," O'Callaghan said. "I have got the 100 free tomorrow so I have got to keep collected. I've got so much more to go."
O'Callaghan also showed great maturity and care for her fellow Aussie and teammate Titmus after the 200m final, beckoning the Tokyo 200m gold medallist and 200m Paris silver medallist up onto the top step of the podium.
Rather than let Titmus stand below her in the silver medal spot, O'Callaghan stood side by side as Advance Australia Fair played over the loudspeakers. The gesture and the kind words following the race went some way to dispelling rumours the pair don't really get along.
"She races like an absolute beast and it's an honour to train alongside her," O'Callaghan said of Titmus. "She deserves so much. It's incredible, this is her second medal and it's day three (at the Olympics). Like, come on, that's amazing."
Titmus, who won the 400m freestyle on Saturday night, was similarly gracious. "I know what it's like to be Olympic champion and I'm honestly so happy for her," she said.
with AAP
