Olympic Champion Mollie O’Callaghan Opens Up On “Frustrating” Few Months In Return To Training

Five-time Australian Olympic champion Mollie O’Callaghan took to social media on Wednesday to provide an update on what she describes as a “tough few months” in her return to full-time training in 2025.

O’Callaghan, 20, said she took a lengthy five-month break to “recharge mentally and enjoy life outside of swimming” after the 2024 Olympics in Paris, where she won three gold and five total medals, including the first individual Olympic title of her career in the women’s 200 freestyle.

The South Brisbane native said coming out of the break she was “hoping to hoping to come back stronger for the next four-year cycle,” but has been frustrated throughout the process while dealing with an injury.

In January, SwimSwam reported on how O’Callaghan was rehabbing a dislocated kneecap, having suffered the same injury on the opposite knee while stretching at the 2023 World Championships.

In her Instagram post, one of the slides shows her on a stationary bike pedaling with her right leg while her left is in a knee brace.

“It’s hard to feel confident in myself when I’m constantly hitting setbacks while trying to rehab and get my fitness back,” O’Callaghan wrote. “I know I can do it mentally, but the physical limitations are the most frustrating part. It feels like one problem after another, like I’m stuck in a cycle that never ends.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Mollie O’Callaghan OAM (@mollie_ocal)

Full Instagram Text:

A glimpse into the past three months

It’s definitely been a tough few months.After taking about five months off post-Olympics to recharge mentally and enjoy life outside of swimming, I was hoping to come back stronger for the next four-year cycle. But returning to full training in January has been a whole different challenge. It’s been the hardest mentally and physically, especially while dealing with an injury.

It’s hard to feel confident in myself when I’m constantly hitting setbacks while trying to rehab and get my fitness back. I know I can do it mentally, but the physical limitations are the most frustrating part. It feels like one problem after another, like I’m stuck in a cycle that never ends.

Even through all of this, I’ve had to remind myself that it’s all about perspective—how I can improve in other ways, both mentally and physically. I’m naturally very self-critical, and it’s been tough trying to appreciate the small wins instead of getting caught up in comparing myself to my past performance. I know that high expectations drive me, but I’ve realized too many can be overwhelming and even destructive.

This whole process has been a huge learning experience. I’ve tried to step away from the pool a bit more and focus on other things to feel more fulfilled in this phase. I’ve also been working on being more present and embracing the challenges, because that’s how you really learn about yourself and what you’re capable of. It’s what makes sport beautiful—the highs and the lows both make the journey worth it.

Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Set to turn 21 in early April, O’Callaghan has racked up international medals in the pool over the last four years, kicking things off at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 when she won two gold and one bronze medal on the Australian relays, swimming preliminary legs in all three.

She then broke through by winning the 2022 world title in the women’s 100 free, also winning two more gold medals at the 2022 World Championships on relays while adding three silvers, including one individually in the 200 free.

That was the first of three standout international performances from O’Callaghan, who also won four gold medals at the Commonwealth Games and three gold and seven total medals at the Short Course World Championships on home soil in Melbourne.

In 2023, O’Callaghan defended her world title in the 100 free and won the 200 free crown for the first time, breaking the 14-year-old super-suited world record in a time of 1:52.85 in the process. She also won three relay golds at the 2023 Worlds and one silver, giving her an incredible 12 World Championship medals (eight gold) in just two appearances.

Last summer in Paris, O’Callaghan won gold in the 200 free in an Olympic Record time of 1:53.27, topping defending champion and Aussie teammate Ariarne Titmus (1:53.81), who broke O’Callaghan’s world record one month earlier at the Olympic Trials in 1:52.23 (with O’Callaghan also setting a new best time of 1:52.48, the second-fastest swim ever).

O’Callaghan also played key roles on the Australian women’s winning 4×100 and 4×200 free relays in Paris, and added a silver in the 4×100 medley and a bronze in the mixed medley.