Two-time Australian Olympic champion Cate Campbell is thinking about extending her career a few extra years in order to compete at the Paris Games in 2024.
Campbell, 27, has changed her tune on retirement plans a few different times over the last four years. Initially planning to call it a career after the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, the four-time World Champion then said she would race up until Tokyo after a disappointing performance at the 2016 Rio Games. Most recently, Campbell said she would aim for Paris 2024 if the Tokyo Games were cancelled.
Now, with the Games postponed to 2021, not cancelled, she’s strongly considering attempting to race at each of the next two Olympics to bring her career total to five.
“I always said I wouldn’t discount another Olympics but I was thinking Tokyo would be my last because four years is a long time between drinks,” Campbell told the Brisbane Times. “Now it will be only three years (until Paris). Do you keep going and try and push for (2024)?
“I am not sure. I think it really depends mentally and physically if I feel I am capable of going around again.”
If Campbell does end up competing at five Olympics, having debuted in Beijing in 2008, she would become the first Australian swimmer to do so. Aussie breaststroke legend Leisel Jones has competed in four (2000-2012).
The International Swimming League (ISL) is another thing that will potentially keep Campbell in the pool longer than she had initially expected.
“Part of me thinks it is a really exciting time in the world of swimming with the ISL starting to pick up, and creating a whole new series of competitions, which will hopefully have a couple of events down in Australia,” she said. “For me, that is also really exciting. Swimming can be a monotonous sport and I have been doing it a long time but now there are so many options available, in lots of different formats around the world.
“I feel like I don’t want to miss out.”
Two-time Australian Olympic 1500 freestyle champion Kieran Perkins believes that after what Campbell managed to do in 2018, dominating the Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships after taking 2017 off of international competition, she has the ability to swim until 2024 if she chooses.
“For older athletes at the end of their careers it could go either way,” Perkins said of the Tokyo postponement. “For myself, if it happened before my last Olympics at Sydney, part of me would have said I would retire because the thought of going for another year was just too much to bear.
“On the flipside the break might help give you perspective, find the energy to go hard one last time. And we saw Cate refreshed and firing the last time she had an extended break — this might be the perfect thing for her.”
Campbell is a five-time Olympic medalist, having won gold in the women’s 4×100 free relay in both 2012 and 2016. Her lone individual Olympic medal came in Beijing, where she claimed bronze in the 50 free just a couple of months after her 16th birthday. She also owns 12 LC World Championship medals, nine Pan Pac gold medals, and eight Commonwealth Games medals.
There are many Australians that will knock C1 and C2 off the mantle. Moving to NSW was not good for Cate and Bronte. Unfortunately they were caught up in a swimming NSW plan that didn’t work. We wish the best but Queensland swimmers are getting results and NSW swimmers have to deal with politics.
I think that better australian swimmers than her will be born in these years
This is a true statement.
I would expect some of the aussies born 2020-2024 to grow up to be better swimmers than Cate Campbell 😛
Suspect any continuation post Tokyo will hinge on both health/remaining injury free and whether she can remain sufficiently competitive …… always a prime issue when one starts going beyond a 3rd Olympics. Granted, C1 came in very young then essentially sat out the bulk of the next cycle due to injury but she does have the example of Jones’ where her “window of opportunity” finally shut just before then end of her final cycle. Having said that, ISL (should it survive) may be a major incentive to continue and her strong relay commitment may keep her going if her ‘window” does close but she can still significantly contribute to keeping certain AUS relays competitive. However, should Tokyo be pushed back… Read more »
She could just focus on the 50 free as she ages, using Torres as the example. Compared to the men, where there are many guys who are strictly 50 free specialists, the women have only a couple, and of those, only Blume is elite in LCM. So it’s a niche that would be easier to remain elite in. She’d lose out on the relays, but she could still do an elite level (top 8) 100 free even if she just trained for the 50.
A plausible scenario however her (comparitively) poor start has always hampered her in the 50. With regards to relays, it may be the case that she is the sub51/51 low split but if she’s still capable of a 52flat/lowish or even sub 53 split; she’s still likely to be in an AUS peak 4×100 quartet and, quite likely, provide a heats option for 4xMED. Much will depend on whether McKeon is able to sustain her upward trajectory and/or C2 can get her shoulders back into better shape.
Torres had a terrible start and no underwaters — as in zero — when she won silver in her 40’s. Blume’s start isn’t so hot either. And then, of course, there’s Tony Ervin, who has a comparatively horrendous start in the men’s. If you can swim like a barracuda, LCM is pretty forgiving of the start. There are no Dressel starts on the women’s side. Serious question — what is the status of C2’s shoulders? Has she had surgery, and if so, when?
Its seems to be the case that C2’s been trying to nurse the situation through to Tokyo rather than go under the knife but this enforced break may’ve been a “window of opportunity” to do so although all elective surgery has been canned in both public and private hospitals UFN. If this is relaxed (with regards to private facilities)by around Sept/October then its still viable. She’s obviously sit out any ISL (if there is any) but with selection meet in June …
Whew. Such a relief to have this information. It has been constantly on my mind, and I am sure so many others have been feeling the same way.
You could say that about any news article that does not specifically talk about corona virus only though. Why pick on this one ?
Because it’s an article about Cate Campbell…
I think the Olympic postponement will also augur well for swimmers like Jack Cartwright and Bronte Campbell who have had recent injuries .. hopefully this additional time helps to plan out their Olympic challenge a lot better … let see what the next year holds..
Not holding out hope that Shayna Jack would be able to swim Tokyo 2021 though
Not holding out anyone will be swimming Tokyo 2021
If the Olympics were delayed until 2030 there would still be ridiculous people on this site posting melodramatic stuff like “no way it happens, gonna get canceled”.
Let’s focus on Tokyo, then go from there
Good luck to Cate..funny, her early career seemed to have illness and injury, and now she is steaming on forever!