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In a recent interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Australian Olympian Cate Campbell discussed her future both in and out of the pool.
Up first on Campbell’s radar is the upcoming Australian Short Course Championships starting on Oct. 26. The meet holds importance for swimmers trying to make the 2018 Australian Commonwealth Games team. The country has yet to announce their rosters, unlike Canada, Scotland and England. The meet will take place in Gold Coast, Australia, April 4-15, 2018.
While Campbell realizes her return back to swimming after a lengthy post-Rio break will be a challenge, she is confident in her long-term success at this stage of her life.
“I’ve had a glimpse of how life could be after swimming,” Campbell said. “And it was good. That’s a big scary thing that’s looming in the not-too-distant future for me now I’ve reached the ripe old age of 25. But it also showed me I do have some unfinished business in the pool, I do want to get back in and get back to 100 percent. I don’t feel I’m done with it just yet.”
Campbell was very open to discussing her opinion on giving this much effort – she explained that it is her choice, and no one else’s. She is open to shifting her priorities, but in a commitment to being her best self for herself.
In Budapest at the 2017 World Championships, Sarah Sjostrom broke her 100 freestyle World Record. At the same time, Campbell was taking critiques from numerous people for her absence at the meet. As a result, she developed authentic insight into the life of a professional swimmer:
“I can completely understand it [the question about why she wasn’t swimming],” she said. “The answer I would give anyone is simply because I didn’t want to. It’s nobody else’s business but my own. Nobody else has to go out there and perform. Nobody has to line up and race. Nobody has to put themselves out there to be judged for a race that lasts 60 seconds. And if I didn’t want to do it, that’s a good enough answer.”
She explained how athletes should be prepared both physically and mentally for competition, and how she was simply not ready for this in July.
But now, Campbell stated that she is all in for the Commonwealth Games. While there have been comments on her road to Tokyo, Campbell is taking her career one meet at time, to give the sport the respect she thinks it deserves. For now, she is enjoying the sport once again and looking forward to April.
The Sydney Morning Herald contributed to this report.
