Olympic champion Emma McKeon’s vital message for all Australians

Emma McKeon, the most decorated Olympian in Australian history, is urging Aussies to educate themselves about beach safety this summer as devastating new stats come to light.

After a bumper year that has yielded seven Olympic swimming medals – four of which were gold – and top honours at the FINA World Cup, McKeon is back home and ready to enjoy a summer by the beach.

Kayo is your ticket to the best local and international sport streaming Live & On-Demand. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial >

But the record-breaking Olympian says even the strongest of swimmers must be vigilant about beach safety as they unwind in the water.

“I’ll be getting out to the beaches and spending as much time as I can by the coast,” she said.

“I want to make sure that I’m safe at the beach and I want to make sure everyone else is safe at the beach, which is why I’m passionate about this cause.

“I’m encouraging everyone to stay safe, swim between the flags and definitely always go to patrolled beaches.”

Beach safety is close to McKeon’s heart.

She spent the summers of her childhood falling in love with swimming at the beach, where from a young age she began learning how to spot rips and stay out of trouble.

“I grew up around the beach and the pool and my grandfather, my dad and my uncle were all very involved in Surf Life Saving, so obviously we were going to be down the beach a lot growing up,” she explained.

“It’s definitely a dangerous place, the beach, and I think people don’t recognise that because it’s just such a beautiful part of our country.”

These days, McKeon’s family spends summers in the sleepy NSW south coast town of Lake Conjola, where she has come face-to-face with the dangers posed by the surf.

“There’s been a few near misses there,” she said.

“I’ve watched my uncle go out and save people, so it’s not a safe place.

“It’s scary … But when you’ve got volunteer lifesavers watching you, you know you can be safe and you know that you can be rescued if you need help.”

Surf Life Saving Australia has recorded a 13 per cent spike in drowning deaths since the beginning of 2021, with more than half of those deaths taking place at unpatrolled beaches, while 40 per cent of last year’s drowning deaths occurred during the summer holiday period.

Surf Life Saving Australia general manager of coastal safety Shane Daw says one drowning death is one too many.

“We had 136 coastal drowning deaths in the last 12 months,” he said.

“We know that the pandemic has been partly responsible (for the spike).

“We’re finding people are looking for more remote and secluded locations.

“(But) the message is, if you want to swim, swim at patrolled beached between the red and yellow flags.”

McKeon is throwing her support behind a new initiative from Surf Life Saving Australia that allows Aussies to find their closest patrolled beach by scanning a QR on boxes of Nutri-Grain.

“I definitely want to use the QR code and find out where the nearest patrolled beaches are down (in Lake Conjola) to make sure I’m doing the right thing,” she said.

“We want to make sure we’re protecting ourselves this summer.”