In some ways Cate Campbell was no different to so many Australian kids, introduced to the water and taught to swim by their parents at a very young age.
But Cate’s tale is a little different – and far more interesting – because of the location where her mother Jenny conducted the ‘lessons’.
It wasn’t your stereotypical backyard pool complete with blow-up aquatic creatures. No. Cate Campbell, and her Commonwealth Games teammate and sister Bronte, were taught to swim in the ninth largest lake on the planet, Lake Malawi.
And it’s probably not surprising the pair are both explosive sprinters, as lurking beneath the waterline where they swam was a massive hippopotamus, one they admit to having a “few close encounters with” on the odd occasion.
That must seem so long ago now for 22-year-old Cate. She has since swum all around world, in famous pools, and not so many lakes. Her most notable appearances have been at Olympic time in Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012, and now in the Commonwealth Games waters in Glasgow.
Cate was born and raised in Blantyre, Malawi, before Jenny and husband Eric decided in 2001 to move with their four children (Cate, Bronte, Jessica and Hamish), choosing Australia over Britain, and Brisbane as their new home. Soon after arriving, so too did another Campbell, youngest sister Abigail.
They settled in Indooroopilly, and the changes began for the children in particular. Firstly having been home-schooled in Malawi, they now were experiencing going to school, not to mention tarred roads, no signs of poverty, and according to Cate, cleanliness.
Just a stone’s throw from home was the local pool, and the children joined the local club to help “fit in” to their new home.
The rest, as they say, is – well, is becoming – swimming history.
A desire to beat Bronte was the catalyst for Cate entering competitive swimming, and she took to it like a hippo to water. In a few short years she was not only setting tongues waggling in Indooroopilly, but around the global swimming community, posting a world best time for a 14-year-old girl in the 50m freestyle at the 2007 Youth Olympics in Sydney.
Success at a higher level didn’t take long, and as a 15-year-old in 2008, she qualified for the Beijing Olympics.
In China, the then 16-year-old won bronze in the 50m freestyle and combined with Libby Lenton, Alice Mills and Melanie Schlanger for another bronze in the 4 x 100m freestyle relay.
It was another bronze in Rome at the world championships the following year, then bang!
After battling through glandular fever, Cate swam at 2010 Commonwealth Games trials but performed poorly. It wasn’t until three months later when she was diagnosed with a bout of post viral fatigue that she got her explanation of why.
It was a difficult time for the teenager. She said she would spend 12 hours sleeping, then need an afternoon nap to cope with the exhaustion. She admits she would have quit swimming had it not been Bronte “getting me out of bed.”
Cate was back in 2011 but missed the team for the world championships, but set her sights on London, and in a stunning result at the selection trials in Adelaide she made the team with a second in the 100m freestyle, and then won the 50m freestyle, beating her sister, who as a result would also make the Olympic team.
And, on opening night of the Games, she teamed with Brittany Elmslie, Mel Schlanger,and Alicia Coutts to win Olympic gold in the 4x100m freestyle relay. It would be Australia’s only gold in the London pool.
But before she had time to celebrate, things again turned for Cate.
Originally diagnosed as gastroenteritis, Cate withdrew for the 100m freestyle. It was later revealed she had suffered from pancreatitis, and had the doctors known at the time they would not have allowed her to start in the 50m freestyle a few days later, either, a race in which she not surprisingly missed the final.
But setbacks are merely hiccups for Cate. When either she or Bronte think things are getting difficult or times are tough, they need only to look to their brother Hamish who suffers from cerebral palsy, to realise things really aren’t that bad.
And while the sisters are inspirational to countless young swimmers, and girls around the nation, both women say Hamish is an inspiration to them.
When the next major competition rolled around, Cate was fit, and ready to climb her Everest and become a world champion, winning the 100m freestyle title (an event she has now dominated since London) in Barcelona last year.
And she’s ready again now, set to add the Commonwealth title to the one won in Spain, and take another small step toward the ultimate goal, Olympic gold in Rio in 2016. That is provided she can do what all big sisters spend much of their time trying to do, keep their little sisters at an arm’s length – or, in this case, at least a fingernail behind.
What am I competing in?
50m Freestyle, 100m Freestyle, 4 x 100m Freestyle relay, 4 x 100m Medley relay.
Who’s my competition?
Cate does not need to look very far to find her main competition. She can see her across the dinner table, breakfast table, and in the training pool. Her main rival is her younger sister Bronte. At the Games selection trials, Cate won both the 50m and 100m freestyle events, and Bronte was second in both. England’s Fran Halsall is also tipped to be a strong rival in the 50m. The Australians, anchored by Cate, are expected to win both relays.
Form heading into the Games
Campbell is ranked number one in the world in the 100m freestyle and number two in the world in the 50m freestyle, not to mention number one in the Commonwealth in both events. At the selection trials in March she clocked a stunning 52.68s in the 100m, and then in the 50m freestyle an equally amazing 24.13s. She has had a solid build up to the Games but more so in training than racing. She did however compete at the two Grand Prix events in Canberra and Brisbane, before the team left Australia, and showed she is ready to roar with a 52.74s 100m swim.
Commonwealth Games History
Back in 2010, after winning bronze at the 2008 Olympics and the 2009 world championships, both in the 50m freestyle, Campbell was expected to be one of the major forces in Delhi, but a bout of glandular fever thwarted her Commonwealth Games campaign. As a result, she’ll make her Commonwealth Games debut in Glasgow.
Why should Aussies get behind me?
She may have been born in Malawi, but Cate is as true blue as it gets. Had she not been dogged by such bad luck with illness in the past few years, who knows how many medals she might have won by now. When it comes to some sportsmen and women, they can be pretentious, or stand-offish, or just think they are better than you. Not Cate. She is as genuine, down to earth, and grounded as they come, as is her younger sister Bronte. They both deserve the country to get behind them, and both will do their country proud.
Fast Facts
Name: Cate Campbell
Born: 20th May 1992, in Blantyre, Malawi
Height: 186cm. Weight: 70kg
Coach: Simon Cusack
Nickname: Bear, because she sleeps a lot.
Events: 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 4 x 100m freestyle relay, 4 x 100m medley relay.
Notable career achievements: Made her Australian debut in 2007. Qualified for the Beijing Olympics and won bronze in the 50m freestyle and in the 4 x 100m freestyle relay in China in 2008. Won bronze in the 50m freestyle in the 2009 world championships in Rome. Won Olympic gold as part of the 4 x 100m freestyle relay in London in 2012. Won gold in the 100m freestyle and silver in the 50m freestyle at the world titles in Barcelona in 2013, and was crowned Australian Swimmer of the Year in 2013.
Pets: Cate has four chickens, two lizards and a pig named Pepper.
I could have been: A breaststoker. Cate wanted to be a breaststroke swimmer, but after tearing ligaments in her hip playing handball at school, she was unable to perform the breaststroke kick .. and still can’t.
Sister Act: In 2012 in London, Cate and Bronte Campbell became the first siblings to swim for Australia at an Olympics since 1972 in Munich when Neil and Greg Rogers and Narelle and Karen Moras competed.
The last time … siblings medalled in the same event at a major international meet was back at the 1924 Paris Olympics when Duke Kahanamoku and his brother Samuel won silver and bronze in the 100m freestyle. That gold was won by Tarzan – Johnny Weissmuller.
Favourite Movie: Cool Runnings.
Favourite Sporting Team: Brisbane Broncos.
Favourite sport to watch: Tennis.
Favourite Drink: Strawberry milkshake
Favourite Music: Coldplay, Mumford and Son
Social following: Has 1,850 followers on Twitter @catecamp and around 1,700 on Instagram (cate_campbell) and has over 1,600 likes on Facebook (campbell.cate).
Youtube: There are dozens of Cate Campbell clips on Youtube of races and interviews, and among the popular is her world championship win in Barcelona in 2013. But the most popular Cate Campbell footage is the 4 x 100m freestyle relay final from London where she combined with Alicia Coutts, Brittany Elmslie, and Mel Schlanger to win Olympic gold. More than 224,000 have watched the race on Youtube.
% chance for gold: In the 50m freestyle it is around 75%. In the 100m freestyle it’s around 95%.
Quote
“Live your fears, realise your dreams, attain your goals.”
This article was first published on the Tenplay website here.
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