Meg Harris: Aussie Olympic gold medal-winning swimming star reveals how she kept her disability a secret - but accidentally gave her fans a big clue at the Tokyo Games

Aussie swimmer Meg Harris claimed gold at the Tokyo Olympics and will be looking to repeat the does at the Paris games, but she has now revealed that she has been hiding a very large secret.

Harris has hearing loss in both ears, a fact she hid from the world until it came to light in Tokyo.

Walking up to be interviewed after the gold-medal-winning swim, Harris was asked a question about her teammate Emma McKeon.

It was a bit of a shock question given it was at the beginning of the interview, when the focus is usually on the athlete being questioned. 

Harris didn't hear a word of it, but thought she had winged it.

'I'm really happy with how my race went,' she said confidently.

She can laugh about that now and will freely talk about her hearing loss, which has done nothing to hold her back as an athlete.

'They're pretty similar questions when you get out, so I can kind of make it out – not that time though,' she said.

Normally, Harris is able to lip read anything the media or officials send her way. If she is unable to, her teammates will help her, or even answer for her.

To date, it has not hindered her one bit, except with one aspect of racing - hearing the starter's gun.

'It's the only thing that's really affected my swimming, everything else is fine, because you don't need to hear to swim,' she said.

'But the start gun, I can hear it now, I have trained myself to hear it.

'I used to just go when everyone else did, because I was so busy listening for it.

'My reaction was always so slow, because I was listening for it, waiting for it.' 

Another challenge is knowing when it is time to get on the blocks, which is why you will usually see Harris be the last one in position.

'Very commonly I don't hear the whistle to get on the blocks, because everyone is talking,' she said.

In saying that, Harris is not completely deaf and is able to hear completely fine with the assistance of her hearing aids - just not in the pool.

'Both ears are pretty even, and it is nerve damage, so they think maybe I might have had an illness at a young age; whatever it is, it's described as moderate,' she said.

And in a scary admission for her opposition, her reaction times to the starter's gun are improving every time she competes.

'You can kind of time it. When they blow the whistle, it's usually a couple of seconds before they say 'take your marks' and around that time I start really listening for the noise. It's meant to be quiet during that time, but people still yell out … but it's always dead silent for the gun.'