A quiet achiever and a megastar team have put a finishing silver polish on Australia’s third-best campaign at an Olympic pool.

Australia’s women’s 4x100m medley relay team of Kaylee McKeown, Emma McKeon, Mollie O’Callaghan and Jenna Strauch – snared a silver in the last event of the meet.

Earlier, unheralded Meg Harris claimed a surprise silver in the women’s 50m freestyle at the La Defense Arena.

High jump added to the tally, with Australians Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson both on the podium with silver and bronze.

Australia’s swim team bagged seven gold, eight silver and three bronze in the Paris pool.

Measured by gold, it’s the nation’s third-best haul at an Olympics behind the nine golds in Tokyo three years ago and eight golds at the 1956 Melbourne Games.

By overall total, the Dolphins’ 18 medals is also Australia’s equal third-best return.

The nation’s swim team won 21 medals overall in Tokyo, 20 at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and also 18 at the Sydney 2000 Games.

In Paris, the United States again sit at the head of the swimming medal table – a position they have held since 1992 – with eight golds, 13 silver and seven bronze.

Australia’s Dolphins were next-best followed by France, whose face of the Games, Leon Marchand, featured in all four of their gold medals.

In the last races at the Paris pool, Harris was stunned to win her silver behind Sweden’s world-record holder Sarah Sjostrom.

“That was the most fun race I have been a part of,” Harris said.

Shayna Jack, who calls her great mate Harris “the quiet achiever”, finished last in the medal race but felt like a winner.

Jack won two relay golds at her debut Olympics which she described as  the opening chapter of her book of redemption – she missed the Tokyo  Games having just served a two-year doping ban.

Australia’s medley women’s relayers followed Harris to take silver and  further boost the Olympic medal collections of big guns McKeon, McKeown and O’Callaghan.

Silver Medalists Kaylee McKeown, Jenna Strauch, Emma McKeon and Mollie O’Callaghan jump in after the medal ceremony. Photo: Getty

McKeon now retires, remaining Australia’s most successful Olympian with an overall haul of six golds, three silvers and five bronze from three Games.

“It’s not really something I look at,” McKeon said.

“That is what you strive for … but it’s the whole journey along the way that I am going to remember for the rest of my life.”

O’Callaghan won three gold medals in Paris – the women’s 200m freestyle, the 4x100m freestyle and the 4x200m freestyle – for a career total of five at the age of 20.

“It has been an emotional, draining week,” O’Callaghan said.

“I need to have good long break … I need a reset so I can go again.”

And McKeown completed a set of medals from her stunning Games, winning two golds, one silver and a bronze in the French capital.

McKeown became the first swimmer to successfully defend 100m and 200m backstroke Olympic titles.

The 23-year-old is also the first Australian swimmer to win four individual Olympic career gold medals.

” I feel like I am kind of just getting started,” McKeown said.

“I am not sure what this next year will hold for me, probably take a bit of time out from the sport just to mentally refresh.”

Swimming Australia’s head coach Rohan Taylor was proud of his Dolphins  pod which dealt with COVID cases throughout the meet.

“We had athletes swim with COVID … I can’t confirm the numbers, that’s a doctor’s thing,” Taylor said.

“We just dealt with it. And that’s the thing I’m the proudest of, is that we took every opportunity to race and compete.”

Twenty-six of Australia’s 41-strong team depart Paris with medals, topped by O’Callaghan’s golden triple treat, a silver and a bronze.

McKeown, Jack and Ariarne Titmus each leave with two golds among their French collections.

O’Callaghan just getting started

Mollie O’Callaghan, Australia’s most successful swimmer in Paris, and aged only 20, has five Olympic gold medals – the only Australian with more is her now-retired swim teammate Emma McKeon, with six.

In Paris, O’Callaghan won three golds, a silver and a bronze.

“It has been an emotional, draining week,” she said.

“I have had to try and keep myself together.

“There’s been a lot of happiness, a lot of sadness, and it’s really hard to process.

“This my second Olympics but it’s my first time racing individually and being able to swim in a final so it’s brand new.”

O’Callaghan won two golds as a relay heat swimmer at the Tokyo Games three years ago.

And now her Paris campaign is finished, she needs “a good, long break”.

“I need to have a mental break,” O’Callaghan said.

“People don’t see behind (the scenes), us training every day. It’s really, really mentally draining and it’s really tough.

“We are so self-critical, we’re so hard on ourselves.

“We drain ourselves every day … we’re just doing laps in the water but we’re doing everything that it takes to get a few little seconds off (our times).

“I need to reset myself and re-evaluate … think about the things that I could have done better, what I could have done more for this team.

“This is the beginning of my career and I have so much more to go.”

Jack comes last, but wins

Australian swimmer Shayna Jack ended her Paris Olympics with a last-place finish in the women’s 50m freestyle.

But Jack says she’s a winner just by racing at the Olympics – she missed the Tokyo Games three years ago having just completed a two-year doping ban.

Jack, who always protested her innocence, won gold medals in Paris as part of Australia’s triumphant women’s 4x100m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle relay teams.

But the medals don’t represent the victory for the 25-year-old, who when suspended doubted she would swim again.

“I just didn’t think I would ever be here, let alone swimming again,” she said.

“I didn’t know if I would fall in love with the sport again.

“And it’s great to say I am in love with the sport and I love racing and I love being a part of something that’s more than just about me.

“I have worked so hard to be here and I’m just really proud of everything I’ve achieved personally and as part of this team this week.

“It is sad to be saying goodbye to it.”

Jack, whose great mate Meg Harris won silver medal in the 50m freestyle on Sunday night, said her Paris experience whetted her appetite.

“I definitely have that motivation to come back in four years time, ” she said.

“This is is just the start of me. This is my redemption chapter and hopefully there’s more to come and there’s more of a story to tell.”

Australia’s swim campaign

* Medals: 7 gold 8 silver 3 bronze

* Gold medals by event: Kaylee McKeown 2 (women’s 100m backstroke, 200m backstroke); Ariarne Titmus (women’s 400m freestyle), Mollie O’Callaghan (women’s 200m freestyle), Cameron McEvoy (men’s 50m freestyle), women’s 4x100m freestyle, women’s 4x200m freestyle

* Silver: Ariarne Titmus 2 (women’s 200m freestyle, women’s 800m freestyle); Elijah Winnington (men’s 400m freestyle), Kyle Chalmers (men’s 100m freestyle), Zac Stubblety-Cook (men’s 200m breaststroke), men’s 4x100m freestyle relay, Meg Harris (women’s 50m freestyle), women’s 4x100m medley relay

* Bronze: Kaylee McKeown (women’s 200m individual medley), men’s 4x200m freestyle relay, mixed 4x100m medley relay

MULTIPLE MEDALLISTS

* Mollie O’Callaghan: 3 gold (women’s 200m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle relay, 4x200m freestyle relay), 1 silver (women’s 4x100m medley), 1 bronze (mixed 4x100m medley relay)

* Ariarne Titmus: 2 gold (women’s 400m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle relay), 2 silvers (200m freestyle, 800m freestyle)

* Kaylee McKeown: 2 gold (women’s 100m backstroke, 200m backstroke), 1 silver (women’s 4x100m medley relay), 2 bronze (women’s 200m individual medley, mixed 4x100m medley relay)

* Shayna Jack: 2 gold (women’s 4x100m freestyle relay, 4x200m freestyle relay)

* Emma McKeon: 1 gold (women’s 4x100m freestyle relay), 1 silver (women’s 4x100m medley relay), 1 bronze (mixed 4x100m medley relay)

* Kyle Chalmers: 2 silver (men’s 100m freestyle, men’s 4x100m freestyle relay), 1 bronze (mixed 4x100m medley relay)

* Meg Harris: 1 gold (women’s 4x100m freestyle relay), 1 silver (women’s 50m freestyle relay)

* Elijah Winnington: 1 silver (men’s 400m freestyle), 1 bronze (men’s 4x200m freestyle relay)

* Flynn Southam: 1 silver (men’s 4x100m freestyle relay), 1 bronze (men’s 4x200m freestyle relay)

* Kai Taylor: 1 silver (men’s 4x100m freestyle relay), 1 bronze (men’s 4x200m freestyle relay)

* Zac Stubblety-Cook: 1 silver (men’s 200m breaststroke), 1 bronze (mixed 4x100m medley relay)

MILESTONES

* Kaylee McKeown: First swimmer to successfully defend 100m-200m backstroke Olympic titles. First Australian swimmer to win four individual Olympic career gold medals

* Mollie O’Callaghan: Wins three golds for a career total of five

* Emma McKeon: Wins sixth career gold medal, overall has 14 medals – the golds, three silvers and five bronze – to remain Australia’s most successful Olympian

* Cameron McEvoy: Aged 30, is Australia’s oldest Olympic swimming gold medallist

* Kyle Chalmers: Has nine Olympic career medals – one gold, three silver, five bronze – and podium finishes at the past three Games in the men’s 100m freestyle

* Twenty-six of Australia’s 41 swimmers win medals

MOST OLYMPIC SWIM CAREER GOLDS

* 6 – Emma McKeon

* 5 – Ian Thorpe, Kaylee McKeown, Mollie O’Callaghan

* 4 – Murray Rose, Dawn Fraser, Ariarne Titmus

* 3 – Shane Gould, Grant Hackett, Petria Thomas, Jodie Henry, Stephanie Rice

AUSTRALIA’S TOP FIVE OLYMPICS AT THE POOL

Tokyo 2021 – 9 gold 3 silver 9 bronze

Melbourne 1956 – 8 gold 4 silver 2 bronze

Paris 2024 – 7 gold 8 silver 3 bronze

Athens 2004 – 7 gold five silver 3 bronze

Beijing 2008 – 6 gold 6 silver 8 bronze

—with AAP