SYDNEY (AP) — Emma McKeon, Australia's most decorated Olympian, announced her retirement from competitive swimming on Monday.
McKeon holds the Australian record of 14 Olympic medals — six of them gold — won over three Summer Olympics, while her seven-medal haul at Tokyo 2020 is the most ever by a female swimmer at a single Games and equal most for any female athlete from any sport at a single Olympics.
The 30-year-old McKeon had previously hinted that the 2024 Paris Games — where she won gold in the 4 x 100m freestyle relay — would be her final Olympics, but she had not said whether she would continue to swim competitively.
“I am proud of myself for giving my swimming career absolutely everything, both physically and mentally. I wanted to see what I was capable of, and I did,” McKeon said on social media.
“Swimming has given me so much. From the dream igniting at 5 years old, right through to my third Olympic games - I have so many lessons, experiences, friendships and memories that I am so thankful for.”
McKeon's 14 medals came across the Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Games, with six Olympic gold, three silver and five bronze.
She’s second only to Katie Ledecky in terms of Olympic swimming gold medals won. The American has won nine across four Olympics in her tally of 14.
“Emma has added her own incredible chapter to Australia’s history at the Olympic Games,” Australian Olympic Committee President Ian Chesterman said in a written statement. “Emma has been an extraordinary athlete who has etched herself a special place in Australian sporting landscape, particularly through her success at the Olympics.
“Her performances during Tokyo were particularly stunning. Emma is recognised not just in Australia, but around the world, as one of the greatest Olympians ever."
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
FILE _ Australia's Mollie O'Callaghan, Shayna Jack, Emma McKeon and Meg Harris, from left, celebrate on the podium after winning the women's 4x100-meter freestyle relay final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in Nanterre, France. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File)
FILE - Emma McKeon of Australia poses after winning the gold medal in the Women's 50 meters butterfly final during the swimming competition of the Commonwealth Games, at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre in Birmingham, England, Monday, Aug. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Thousands of supporters of Pakistan's imprisoned former premier Imran Khan have defied a lockdown and widespread arrests to head to the capital Monday to demand his release.
Khan, who has been in jail for over a year and faces more than 150 criminal cases, remains popular. His party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf or PTI, says the cases are politically motivated.
The “long march” comes ahead of a visit by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to Islamabad.
The convoy of vehicles carrying protesters is expected to reach the capital later Monday. Security officials say they expect between 9,000-11,000 demonstrators, while the PTI claims the number will be much higher.
The lockdown, which has been in place for two days, has disrupted daily life. Travel between Islamabad and other cities has become nearly impossible. Ambulances and cars were seen turning back from areas along the key Grand Trunk Road highway in Punjab province, where shipping containers were used to block roads.
Footage circulating online showed some protesters, who had been traveling all night, operating heavy machinery to remove the containers.
“We are determined and we will reach Islamabad, though police are using tear gas to stop our march,” Kamran Bangash, a PTI senior leader, told The Associated Press. “We will overcome all hurdles one by one, and our supporters are removing shipping containers from roads."
Bangash also said Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, who was recently released on bail in a graft case, will lead the march along with Ali Amin Gandapur, the chief minister in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where Khan’s party remains in power.
Almost 50 kilometers (31 miles) away from Islamabad, Bibi, wearing a white head-to-toe burqa, addressed protesters while sitting in a truck, urging them to remain determined to “achieve their goal" and free Khan. She then chanted, “God is great” and left.
Khan’s main political opponent, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, heads the current government.
Sharif’s spokesman, Attaullah Tarar, said on Sunday that whenever any high-profile foreign delegation comes to Pakistan, the PTI “begins the politics of long marches and onslaught on Islamabad to harm the economy.”
Some economists say protests cause billions of rupees in damages to the country's fragile economy.
Protesters on Sunday night burned trees as police fired tear gas to disperse crowds. Khan supporters retaliated by using slingshots and pelting security personnel with rocks.
In a bid to foil the protest, police have arrested more than 4,000 Khan supporters since Friday and suspended mobile and internet services “in areas with security concerns,” which the PTI said affected the efficacy of its call for protest on social media. On Thursday, a court prohibited rallies in the capital and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said anyone violating the ban would be arrested.
Authorities say only courts can order the release of Khan, who was ousted in 2022 through a no-confidence vote in Parliament. He has been imprisoned since his first conviction in a graft case, in August 2023.
Khan has also been sentenced in several cases, including to three years, 10 years, 14 years and seven years to be served concurrently under Pakistani law. His convictions were later overturned on appeal but he cannot be freed due to other pending cases against him.
Associated Press writers Riaz Khan in Peshawar and Asim Tanveer in Multan contributed to this report.
Supporters of imprisoned former premier Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, burn bushes to reduce the impact of tear gas shells fired by police officers to disperse them during a rally demanding Khan's release, at a motorway in Ghazi in Attock district, Pakistan, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Maaz Awan)
Supporters of imprisoned former premier Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, burn bushes to reduce the impact of tear gas shells fired by police officers to disperse them during a rally demanding Khan's release, at a motorway in Ghazi in Attock district, Pakistan, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Maaz Awan)
