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Steve Larkin

Golden swim girl O'Callaghan: I'm just getting started

Mollie O'Callaghan needs a break after winning three gold medals, a silver and a bronze in Paris. (Dave Hunt/AAP PHOTOS)

Mollie O'Callaghan, Australia's most successful swimmer in Paris, says she's just getting started.

O'Callaghan, 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."

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