Australian swimming star Emma McKeon is confident a positive COVID diagnosis will not derail her plans for the next 12 months.
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McKeon is set for another big year, with both the World Championships and Commonwealth Games to be held in 2022.
McKeon is in Wollongong enjoying a break after an intense 2021 that saw her become Australia's most decorated Olympian and spend three months racing in Europe and Qatar.
Her time back home has taken a negative turn after testing positive to COVID.
McKeon is fully vaccinated, is only experiencing mild symptoms and expects to make a full recovery.
The 27-year-old had not planned on returning to training until the start of February, so her illness will not impact those plans.
McKeon was upbeat about the situation, but disappointed to miss Christmas.
"I'm feeling alright, it's just bad timing," McKeon told the Mercury. "There's going to be thousands of people in the same boat over Christmas. Everyone will get COVID at some point, it's my turn now.
"I have no concerns about the long-term impact on my swimming. I'm fully vaccinated, if you're fully vaccinated you don't really have anything to worry about."
McKeon has witnessed first-hand the way different countries handle coronavirus throughout the past 12 months.
Japan created a bubble to ensure the Olympics went off without a hitch while many European countries have been far more relaxed about the threat of COVID.
It was during her time in Europe racing in the International Swimming League that Australian teammate Madi Wilson tested positive for coronavirus. The Tokyo gold medalist was briefly transferred to hospital but has since returned to racing.
Australia's handling of the virus has started to evolve in recent months and McKeon said we can learn a lot from the experience of other countries.
"Being overseas opened my eyes a lot to it all," McKeon said.
"It's just what's happening at the moment and that's what it is. It's my turn now, everyone will get it at some point. Hopefully Australia can move forward in how we handle it."