Bronte Campbell Feeling “A Little Bit Of Relief” With Tokyo Postponement

Like many athletes, Australian Olympic gold medalist Bronte Campbell is choosing to look as the postponement of the Tokyo Games to 2021 as a positive, as it allows more time to prepare and improve. But for Campbell, it also allows her to fully recover from some lingering injuries and not rush in to competing at what could very well be her last Olympics.

Featured on Australia’s SEN Radio with host Gerard Whateley on Tuesday, Campbell shared her immediate feelings once the Games were finally postponed.

“It was actually a little bit of relief, I think because there was a huge sort of uncertainty building up to it and I actually couldn’t see it going ahead,” said the 25-year-old. “So I was thinking they might actually just cancel them, and there would be another four years until the next Olympics, which would’ve been devastating because I’m not sure I’ll do another four years. But I can make myself do another year, that’s foreseeable.”

While confident she would be able to perform this summer, the Sydney resident admits it was a bit of a rush to get everything into place amid the health concerns.

“I had a pretty rough start to the year with injuries so I was really fighting the clock to get up and running and fit in time for the Trials and then the Olympics,” she said. “I did feel like I was going to make it but it was going to be a really tough push and a very fine line. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t achievable, but I did feel like I was racing the clock a bit.

“While I was aiming to peak this year, it’s sort of nice for me to be able to have a better build-up this time if I can keep injuries under control, which this break will probably help me do.”

Last getting the opportunity to train in the water four weeks ago, right around when the Games were officially postponed, Campbell has found the pause in the daily grind has made her appreciate it that much more.

“Taking a break from training for me just reiterates to myself how much I want to do it,” she said. “How much I love it. When you’re in it you tend to complain about it, once it’s taken away you tend to appreciate it a little bit more.”

As she mentioned, the five-time Commonwealth champion is moving towards the end of her career (though older sister Cate Campbell is considering swimming through to Paris). Through all of her experience, including two Olympic appearances, she’s choosing to focus directly on things within her control, namely times, rather than medals.

“My goal is to make (the Olympics) for the 100 freestyle,” she said. “Especially to qualify in Australia is incredibly tough because we’ve got Cate and Emma McKeon here, so we’ve got three out of the top-five freestyle swimmers in the world, which is pretty incredbile. The goal is to qualify, obviously, first, and then my ultimate goal is to be in the 100-meter Olympic final and to swim my best-ever time, in that final. There are very few people that end up swimming their best time in an Olympic final so to be able to do that would be incredible. And that puts you in a very good medal position if you do do that.

“But that’s not what I focus on, that’s not something I can control, really. All I can control is doing better than I’ve ever done before. It sounds pretty simple but it ends up being a pretty lofty goal.”

However, it is worth noting that Campbell isn’t completely ruling out swimming on to the next Olympics.

“When I was younger I would get very caught up in the results of the meet and that would really color the whole experience, but this time around I really just want to take it all in and enjoy it, because I really don’t think I’m going to go until 2024,” she said.

“Who knows, after this one it’s only three years, right? So maybe I can do another three years, but I haven’t committed to that yet. I’ve got my goals in the pool, but just that little mindfulness, stopping and looking around and taking it all in because for me it feels like, it’s not yet at a close, but it’s getting towards that.”

Campbell also shared some of her thoughts on the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, where she came in as the reigning World Champion in the women’s 50 and 100 freestyle.

While she and Cate led Australia to gold and a new world record in the women’s 400 free relay, both failed to medal in either race individually.

Contrary to public opinion, Bronte was actually pleased with her performance given that her shoulder problems first arose earlier that year.

“Surprisingly, Rio wasn’t what everyone thought it was for me,” she said. “I was obviously very upset for Cate because it was a really heartbreaking time for her, but that was the year my injury started, I didn’t really know how to deal with it. I hadn’t been able to train properly for eight months.”

In the 2016 100 free final, Bronte finished fourth, .04 outside of the medals, in a time of 53.04. The year prior she had set her best time at 52.52.

“I was actually really excited with how I ended up performing despite all this injury stuff that had been going on,” she said. “But I didn’t tell everyone about that, so everyone just saw that I had swum about half a second off my best and that I should be disappointed. But that wasn’t something that really mattered to me.”

On the topic of how the two sisters manage racing the same events, knowing that one’s victory can often mean another’s disappointment, Bronte simply opts to celebrate her sister’s success when it comes.

“You definitely have to confront it and make peace with it, and I think it’s acknowledging that our sport and our enjoyment in it is more than just one moment,” she said. “It’s more than just one race and it’s even more than just one year. We’ve both been doing it for a long time. It’s sort of acknowledging that there are peaks and troughs in everything, and just because someone’s shining doesn’t mean you won’t get a chance. And it doesn’t mean you don’t get to enjoy that for them.

“The nicest thing is that if I don’t swim a very good race and I feel like I’ve done a bad job and I get to see my sister do a good job, that livens my mood a little bit. So there can be some really good things in it.”

You can listen to Bronte’s full interview below: