Meg Harris

Meg Harris was born on March 7, 2002, in Wodonga, Australia. Her introduction to swimming came through her mother, a swimming teacher in Mackay. Initially, Harris pursued swimming as a means to maintain fitness for surf lifesaving activities. However, after her family relocated to Brisbane in 2015, she developed a deeper connection to the sport.

Harris’s early career showed significant promise. She was selected to compete at the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games in the Bahamas, where she secured a victory in the 50m freestyle event. Her success continued at the 2019 World Junior Championships in Budapest, where she earned three medals. Her senior debut with the Dolphins’ squad occurred at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. There, she was a key member of the gold medal-winning women’s 4x100m freestyle relay, alongside teammates Cate Campbell, Bronte Campbell, and Emma McKeon. This quartet established a new world record, completing the race in 3:29.69, with Harris contributing a 53.09-second split. She also received a bronze medal for her participation in the heats of the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay. At just 19 years old, Harris concluded her first Olympic appearance with two medals. Following her Olympic debut, Harris relocated to Adelaide, training under sprint coach Peter Bishop, and later moved back to Brisbane to join the Rackley Swim Team under Damien Jones.

Her career progressed with further significant achievements. In 2022, at her senior World Championships debut in Budapest, Harris earned four medals: two golds, one silver, and one bronze. She was part of the gold medal-winning 4x100m mixed freestyle relay team which also broke the world record with a time of 3:19.38. The same year, at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, she won a silver medal in the 50m freestyle and a gold in the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay. She concluded 2022 with two gold and three silver medals at the Short Course World Championships in Melbourne, all in relay events. In 2023, Harris continued her world record-breaking streak, contributing to the women’s 4x100m freestyle team that set a new record of 3:27.96. Leading up to the Paris 2024 Olympics, she placed third in the 100m freestyle Olympic trials and won gold in the 50m freestyle at the 2024 Australian Championships. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Harris secured another gold in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay, an individual silver in the women’s 50m freestyle, and a silver medal for her participation in the women’s 4x100m medley relay heats. Harris is partially deaf, using lip-reading and hearing aids, and attributes her team’s support to overcoming communication challenges in her sport.