Celebrating Maggie Mac Neil: Olympic, World and NCAA Champion
September 26, 2024
BATON ROUGE, LA — “Ever since the Ben Johnson scandal at the Seoul Olympics in 1988, Canada has grappled with elite sports and needs Olympic heroes to inspire and bring home a feel-good factor. One such hero is Maggie Mac Neil, LSU Masters in Sport Management graduate in 2024,” says LSU School of Kinesiology Director and Olympic and sports scholar, John Nauright.
On September 26th, 2024, Maggie Mac Neil, 2024 graduate from LSU's master's program in sport management, announced her retirement from competitive swimming after a magical career over the past six years. Mac Neil burst onto the international scene with a bang, winning the gold medal in the 100-meter butterfly at the World Aquatics Championships. In that race, Mac Neil beat the reigning Olympic and four-time world champion, Sarah Sjöström of Sweden. At the Short Course World Championships, she won two more gold medals. Mac Neil’s rise culminated in the COVID-delayed Tokyo Olympics of 2020, held in 2021. With 3 medals, Mac Neil was named Best Female Athlete of Tokyo 2020 by the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC).
“In that race in Tokyo, Mac Neil outkicked the two best swimmers of all-time in her
event (Sjöström and Australia’s Emma McKeon) taking the 100-meter butterfly gold medal,”
Nauright says. At the Commonwealth Games in 2022, she once again finished ahead of
McKeon to take gold. Mac Neil has many more accolades, including two world records
and multiple Olympic, World, Commonwealth and NCAA medals.
At the 2023 NCAA championships, Mac Neil became the first woman in LSU's history to
win three gold medals in the same SEC meet since Lucy Findlay in 1993 and was named
female swimmer of the meet. She was also named best female swimmer of the 2023 Pan
American Games.
Mac Neil is humble, focused and powerful. Her incredible kick has enabled her, at 5’6” on a good day, to win over women often 6-8 inches taller than her. That’s in a sport where races are often decided by hundredths of seconds. At the 2024 Olympics in Paris, Mac Neil just missed the medals in her effort to become the first woman to ever defend the 100-meter butterfly in the Olympics. Mac Neil has shown that tenacity and hard work can lead to triumph even over the best in the world.
With her sporting experience and master's degree in sport management, Mac Neil may
attend law school in Canada and possibly work on athletes’ rights. Mac Neil’s commitment
to LSU is ongoing as she is joining the inaugural advisory board for the LSU Women’s Sport and Health Initiative in the School of Kinesiology.
As an insider to the sport and armed with outstanding education, we expect Mac Neil
to continue to inspire and lead in global sport far beyond what she has already accomplished
in the pool. We salute Maggie Mac Neil, School of Kinesiology and College of Human
Sciences and Education alum and world and Olympic champion!
About SOK
The LSU School of Kinesiology (SOK) advances the understanding of physical activity,
sport, and health to optimize the quality of life for diverse populations through
excellence in teaching, learning, discovery, and engagement. SOK offers a BS, MS,
Online MS, PhD, and two certificate options. Graduates go on to successful careers
in the health and fitness industry, corporate wellness, sport agencies and businesses,
athletic administration, and K-12 educational settings. SOK is part of the College
of Human Sciences & Education.
Visit the School of Kinesiology website.
About CHSE
The College of Human Sciences & Education (CHSE) is a nationally accredited division
of Louisiana State University. The college is comprised of the School of Education,
the School of Information Studies, the School of Kinesiology, the School of Leadership
& Human Resource Development, and the School of Social Work. CHSE has two model demonstration
schools, the Early Childhood Education Laboratory Preschool, enrolling birth to age
four and the University Laboratory School enrolling Kindergarten through grade 12.
The college also has four centers and institutes: the Early Childhood Education Institute,
the Healthy Aging Research Center, the Leadership Development Institute, and Social
Research & Evaluation Center. The college is committed to achieving the highest standards
in teaching, research, and service and is committed to improving quality of life across
the lifespan.