Emma McKeon shares 4-word reaction after trekking over 8km uphill at Roys Peak in New Zealand

Emma McKeon, the Australian swimming legend, recently hiked to the top of Roy’s peak. With a summit altitude of 1578 meters, Roy’s Peak is a popular day hike in New Zealand. Emma shared on her Instagram story a scenic view from the top of the peak.

The 30-year-old is regarded as one of the best swimmers of all time. At the Tokyo Olympics, she became the first female swimmer to win seven medals in one Olympics. Of those seven medals, four were gold and the other three were bronze. She finished at the top of the podium at the Paris Olympics as well, winning another gold in the 4X100m freestyle relay; becoming the most decorated Olympians in Australian history with 14 Olympic Medals.

In a recent post, Emma McKeon took on Roy’s Peak as a new challenge and reached its summit. She shared a view from the summit and mentioned that the hike was direct uphill of around 8.5 km with an altitude of 1576m. In her post, she wrote:

"That was a burn!"

Screenshot of Emma McKeon's Instagram story

Emma McKeon is one of the most decorated Australian Olympian and now she is enjoying her time away from the sport, going on adventures, bringing awareness, and helping in every capacity she can as a UNICEF Australia Ambassador.

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Emma McKeon on swimming retirement and working with UNICEF

Last year in November, Emma McKeon announced her retirement from all formats of swimming. In an Instagram post, she shared a heartfelt note where she announced her retirement from the sport. She reflected on her illustrious career. As she got closer to the Paris Olympics she knew that this was going to be her last Olympics.

The months after the Olympics gave her the clarity she needed. In the heartwarming Instagram post, she shared:

"Leading into Paris, I knew it would be my last Olympics, and the months since have given me time to reflect on my journey, and think about what I wanted my future to look like in swimming. 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."

She also looked ahead to the future and wrote:

"Now I am excited to see how I can push myself in other ways, and for all the things that life has in store."

She has also been working closely with UNICEF. Recently, she visited Bangladesh with UNICEF to promote children's welfare and worked closely on the program called Swimsafe, a simple initiative in which children are taught swimming in safe enclosed bamboo pools. She even started an online fundraiser for the Swimsafe program and shared it on her Instagram.