On the heels of multi-Olympic medalist Cate Campbell of Australia revealing she is not pursuing a 2022 Commonwealth Games bid, she has reaffirmed her commitment to pursue a spot on the roster for Paris 2024.
29-year-old Campbell has enjoyed a much-awaited break from both hardcore training and competition since claiming bronze in the 100m freestyle last summer at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
“When I got back from Tokyo, it wasn’t clear to me that I was done with swimming. I wanted to take my time and I spoke to a few retired athletes, just around this idea of ‘when do you know’. People say you just know when it’s the right time to give it away… and I didn’t feel like I had that sense of knowing,” Campbell told The Sydney Morning Herald this week.
“I knew I needed a really big break physically and mentally. I wasn’t disappointed or heartbroken like 2016 but I was very much burned out. It had been a struggle to get to Toyko.
“I think I was just plagued with the ‘what could have been?’. The struggle of the extra year hampered me and it probably took away a bit of the joy of swimming. I just don’t feel like I’m ready to close the chapter but it’s not something I want to dive back into right away.”
“Paris is now the ultimate goal,” Campbell said.
In August of 2021, she said that the next edition of the Summer Olympic Games was indeed in her sights, but her continuing with the same message months later is a further sign the freestyle ace is about to get down to business.
And C1 will have a unique approach heading into the next 2+ years, opting to take a swimming tour of sorts of Europe in order to change up her environment in and out of the pool.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, ‘Campbell and her partner will embark on a six-month trip around Europe, something she believes will rejuvenate and rekindle her passion for swimming.’
A tour abroad is not unique to Campbell, as 2016 Olympic medalist Daiya Seto recently completed his multi-stop experiment in the United States, making the rounds from Georgia to Michigan to Arizona.
Although C1’s itinerary has not yet been revealed, it’s not a stretch to consider her spending at least some of the time training alongside fellow sprint ace Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden. The pair synced up in 2017 for a collaborative stint both in Australia and in Europe.
Pampukumar
Awesome news!! Happy she’s decided to continue on for Paris and excited that she’ll be changing it up by training in Europe. Hopefully we’ll also see her competing more
She showed in Tokyo she’s still a force. A bronze medal in the 100FS behind McKeon and Haughey was no mean feat and she could have won gold in the 50FS had she repeated her time from trials. She no longer has the burden of expectations and if she can maintain her motivation she’ll be a threat all the way through to 2024.
Making the Australian team for 2 individual swims was no mean feat too! Glad you mentioned her 50m ‘performance’ in Tokyo…was up there with her Rio individual swims for disappointment. She looked very disappointed at the end of that race.
And shortly after that race an extremely excited reaction from Cate as she anchored Australia to another gold medal in the women’s medley relay.
Indeed, great turn around. That 100m was faster than her 4x100m split on Day 1!
Needed every little bit of it.
So Cate has now posted on IG about it and she’ll be training with Damian Jones at Rackley after she returns from Europe.
What about Brontë?
She’s remained in Sydney, which is where her significant other lives. Whilst still keeping fit, no clear signs of a return to serious training.
Tough for her to get an individual swim these days……but still a beast in relays.
4x100m free will be trying for a 4th successive Olympic title, They usually take top 5 or 6 from trials, so she should hopefully at least make that Good Luck to her!
She said in the SMH article that she understands that and would still be happy as a relay swimmer.
100FR looks like it may be the ask for both C1 & C2, given McKeon will most likely have a lock on one spot and the presence of Wilson, Harris and O’Callaghan. GIven all of that trio have, to date, appeared more 100/200; there may still be an opening at 50.
The evidence of Tokyo suggests C1’s days as the pre-eminent relay weapon may have passed but as long as she, or C2 for that matter, are still capable of 53low flat start and sub 53 flying start, they should remain “in the frame” for relay selection.
At this point, C2 remains a question mark so this may open up a spot for the likes of Jack, who herself… Read more »