Cutting ties with her parents was tough but, in the end, it helped Emma McKeon make her family's remarkable Olympic tradition stronger.
McKeon broke down in tears on Saturday as she recalled the difficult path to becoming the latest family member to join an Olympic swimming team.
McKeon claimed the 100m butterfly title at the Olympic trials in Adelaide, ensuring she joined sibling David in Rio.
They are the first brother-sister act in an Australian Olympic swim team since John and Ilsa Konrads qualified for the 1960 Rome Games.
But she still has a hard act to follow.
Emma McKeon's father and former coach Ron (1980, 1984) and uncle Rob Woodhouse (1984, 1988) contested two Games and her brother David went to London.
She almost walked away from the sport after narrowly missing out on London qualification.
Watching her brother compete from the London stands stirred the competitive fire again.
But it wasn't until she bit the bullet and left her Wollongong home, relocated to Brisbane with David in 2014 and, ultimately, linked with reigning Australian Coach of the Year Michael Bohl that McKeon truly realised her potential.
Not that it made the process any easier - even to this day.
Two years after saying goodbye to her parents, McKeon admitted it was still raw.
"My mum and dad have helped me so much - moving out of home was pretty hard," a tearful McKeon said.
"I am probably still getting through all that.
"It's just made me a tougher person, I think."
While her parents urged her to leave Wollongong to realise her full potential, McKeon said she never felt pressure to join her family's elite Olympic group.
"It's definitely very special but there was only pressure I put on myself," she said.
"I went to London to watch David and, up in the stands, I was thinking 'I could have almost been down there if I put some more work in'.
"Now, I have high expectations.
"There's always more I want to achieve."
Another chance will come on Sunday night in the 200m freestyle final in Adelaide.
She is the fastest qualifier after clocking one minute, 55.82 seconds in Saturday night's semi-finals.
McKeon made her intentions clear by setting a new Commonwealth 200m record (1:55.53) at last month's NSW titles, eclipsing her own national mark.
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