Cate Natalie Campbell, (born 20 May 1992) is a Malawian-born Australian competitive

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

, and a current multiple world record holder, who won two bronze medals at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, a gold medal at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, a gold and a silver medal at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

and a gold medal at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

. She is the current world record holder in the Long Course 4 x 100 m Freestyle Relay with Team Australia and the short course 100 m freestyle. Campbell was one of the flagbearers for Australia at the

Tokyo 2020 Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

alongside basketball player Patty Mills. She is coached by Simon Cusack at the

Commercial Swimming Club Commercial Swimming Club is a swimming club that is based at the Fortitude Valley Pool in centre of Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of the most successful clubs in Australia and has produced many Olympic swimmers and medalists. Commercial swim ...

Early life

Cate is the first of five children born to South African parents, Eric, an accountant, and Jenny, a nurse. She has four younger siblings (three sisters and one brother): Bronte, Jessica, Hamish, and Abigail. Her brother Hamish has severe

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...

and requires around-the-clock care. Jenny used to be a swimmer and taught her three daughters to swim, in the pool at the family's home. Cate also recalls swimming near Hippopotami in

Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is the fifth largest fre ...

as a small child. Lake Malawi is the second deepest lake in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. It was in this lake that her father, Eric, would go sailing on weekends. Campbell and her siblings were homeschooled as children. Her mother also frequently read the Bible to her, while she was growing up. The Campbells lived in a big house, with no TV. They had many pets, including turkeys, guinea pigs, dogs, cats, and chickens. Campbell describes every morning like "an Easter egg hunt; the chickens would lay eggs all around the house." During her schooling, Campbell states she could not sing or dance, but swimming was something in which she excelled. She also stated she received top marks for public speaking at school. Aside from those, she claims she was an "average student". The Campbells moved from

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

to Australia in 2001 and it was soon after this that Campbell took up competitive swimming. She completed her secondary school studies at Kenmore State High School in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Queensland. Her sister Bronte is also an Olympic swimmer and the pair competed in the same event at the

. In 2007, she went to the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and won two gold medals in the 50 metre individual freestyle and 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay. She followed this up in 2008 with a victory in the 50 metre freestyle at the Japan Open, beating compatriot

Libby Trickett Lisbeth Constance Trickett, OAM (; born 28 January 1985) is a retired Australian swimmer. She was a gold medallist at the 2004 Summer Olympics, the 2008 Summer Olympics, and the 2012 Summer Olympics. She was the world record holder in the s ...

and setting new Australian and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

records with her time of 24.48 seconds.

Career

2008 Olympics

Cate was the fastest qualifier into the 50 metre freestyle semi-finals, after recording a time of 24.20 seconds. This placed her in Lane 4 in the semi-finals against the world record holder

. In the second semi-final Cate placed second in a time of 24.42 seconds, placing her in Lane 5 for the final. In the final, she placed third in a time of 24.17. She also won bronze as part of Australia's women's 4 x 100 metre freestyle relay team.

2009 World Championship

Despite doing a time trial of 53.40 seconds, with her 100-metre performance of 56.39 from 5 months earlier in March and having hip problems, she was scratched from the women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle. However, she still earned the right to swim the 50 metre freestyle from her runner-up swim at the world championships trials. In Rome she finished with a bronze, beating compatriot

and ending 0.02 of a second off the Commonwealth Record.

2012 Olympics

In 2010, Cate and her sister Bronte caught

glandular fever In animals, a gland is a group of cells in an animal's body that synthesizes substances (such as hormones) for release into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland). Structure De ...

; they worked against post-viral fatigue as they trained to qualify for the

in London. Cate Campbell was a member of the Australian team that won the gold medal in the 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay at the Games. Before the individual 50 metre event, she contracted acute pancreatitis. In the women's 50 metre freestyle she and Bronte swam in the same heat, finishing third and second respectively, and qualifying for the semi-final in tenth and ninth place respectively.

2013

At the 2013 Australian Swimming Championships she won gold in both the 50 and 100 metre freestyle events, qualifying for the

2013 World Aquatics Championships The 15th FINA World Championships ( ca, Campionat Mundial de Natació de 2013, es, Campeonato Mundial de Natación de 2013) were held from 20 July to 4 August in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.Emma McKeon Emma Jennifer McKeon, (born 24 May 1994) is an Australian competitive swimmer. She is a four-time world record holder, one current and three former, in the 4x100 metre freestyle relay. Her total career haul of 11 Olympic medals following the ...

and Alicia Coutts in the 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay where they won the silver medal, finishing 0.12 of a second behind the American team. On the sixth day of competition, Campbell won the 100 metre freestyle world title with a time of 52.34 seconds. Campbell finished ahead of

Sarah Sjöström Sarah Fredrika Sjöström (; born 17 August 1993) is a Swedish competitive swimmer specialising in the sprint freestyle and butterfly events. She is the current world record holder in the 50 metre freestyle (long course), the 100 metre freestyle ...

of Sweden and defending Olympic champion,

Ranomi Kromowidjojo Ranomi Kromowidjojo (; born 20 August 1990) is a retired Dutch swimmer of mixed Dutch- Javanese Surinamese origin who mainly specialises in sprint freestyle events. She is a triple Olympic champion, winning the gold medal in the 4 × 100 m free ...

2015

At the 2015 World Championships in

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...

, she won gold in the 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay, beating the Dutch and US teams by a comfortable lead. On the 100 metre freestyle event she finished third, behind Bronte Campbell and Sarah Sjöström. At the 2015 Australian Short Course Swimming Championships in Sydney, she broke the short course 100 metre freestyle world record in a time of 50.91, becoming the first woman to go under 51 seconds.

2016

At the 2016 Australian Swimming Championships she won the 100 metre freestyle to qualify for the

. She broke the Australian record in the 50 metre freestyle in the semifinals with a time of 23.93, which was the fastest time ever in a textile swimsuit. She went on to win the final and qualify for the Olympics in the 50 metre freestyle, improving her time to 23.84. In addition, Campbell also qualified for the Olympic team in both the 4 × 100 m freestyle (winning gold in a new world-record time) & 4 × 100 m medley relays. At the 2016 Australian Grand Prix meet, she broke the long course 100 metre freestyle world record in a time of 52.06. This was 0.01 seconds faster than the previous world record set by

Britta Steffen Britta Steffen (; born 16 November 1983) is a German competitive swimmer who specializes in freestyle sprint events. Biography In 1999, Steffen won six titles at the European Junior Championships, and won a medal as a member of Germany's rela ...

during the super suit era.

2016 Summer Olympics

At the

Campbell won a gold medal as a member of the Australian women's 4 × 100 m freestyle team. The team, which included Campbell's sister Bronte, set a world record time of 3:30.65. This was followed by a silver medal as a member of the women's 4 × 100 m medley team. In the Olympic final of the

100 m freestyle The 100 metre freestyle is often considered to be the highlight (Blue Ribbon event) of the sport of swimming, like 100 metres in the sport of Athletics. The first swimmer to break the one-minute barrier (long course) was Johnny Weissmuller, in 1 ...

, Campbell was the favourite, however after leading at the first turn, she finished 6th in 53.24, despite breaking the Olympic record in the heats and semifinals with times of 52.78 and 52.71, respectively. She narrowly missed a medal in the 50 m freestyle final, finishing 5th.

2017

After the Rio Olympics, Campbell took 2017 off from swimming competitively in order to recover from disappointment. She used most of the year to do "normal things" other people her age might do, taking her first real break from training since the age of 9. At the 2017 Australian Short Course Swimming Championships she broke the 100 metre freestyle world record in a time of 50.25, improving the previous mark by 0.33 seconds.

2018

Campbell returned to competition for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, winning gold and breaking the world record in the women's 4 × 100m freestyle relay, alongside sister Bronte,

Emma McKeon Emma Jennifer McKeon, (born 24 May 1994) is an Australian competitive swimmer. She is a four-time world record holder, one current and three former, in the 4x100 metre freestyle relay. Her total career haul of 11 Olympic medals following the ...

and Shayna Jack. She then won gold for the women's 50m freestyle, with a time of 23.78, breaking a Commonwealth record. She also won gold for the women's 50m butterfly, despite having no prior experience in the stroke. She stated she opted for the event to "shake things up" and "to try something new and different". Campbell claimed the silver medal for the 100m freestyle with a time of 52.69, touching behind her sister Bronte, who had a time of 52.27.

2021

Campbell qualified for her 4th Olympics, Tokyo 2020, becoming the third Australian swimmer to do so, after

Leisel Jones Leisel Marie Jones, OAM (born 30 August 1985) is an Australian former competition swimmer and Olympic gold medallist. A participant in the 2000 Summer Olympics – at just 15 years old – and 2004 Summer Olympics, she was part of gold-medal- ...

and

Emily Seebohm Emily Jane Seebohm, OAM (born 5 June 1992) is an Australian swimmer and television personality. She has appeared at four Olympic Games between 2008 and 2021; and won three Olympic gold medals, five world championship gold medals and seven Commo ...

. On 7 July 2021, she was announced as one of Australia's flagbearers for the Opening Ceremony, alongside basketball player,

Patty Mills Patrick Sammy Mills (born 11 August 1988) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Mills was born and raised in Canberra, and is of Torres Strait Islander and Aborigin ...

, and becoming the first Australian female swimmer to do so. Alongside Emma McKeon, Meg Harris, and sister Bronte, Campbell won gold in the women's 4 x 100m freestyle relay, again breaking Australia's previous record. This also marked the 3rd time Campbell has won gold in the same event. She then went on to win the bronze medal in the 100m freestyle, behind Emma McKeon (gold) and Hong Kong's Siobhan Haughey (silver). On day 9 of the Olympics, Campbell finished 7th in the 50m freestyle final. Half an hour later, she and the Australian team won gold in the women's medley relay, alongside

Kaylee McKeown Kaylee Rochelle McKeown (born 12 July 2001) is an Australian swimmer and triple Olympic gold medalist. She is a world record holder in the long course 100 metre backstroke and the short course 200 metre backstroke.Hanson, Ian (27 November 20 ...

Chelsea Hodges Chelsea Mae Hodges (born 27 June 2001) is an Australian Swimming (sport), swimmer. She competed in the Swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's 100 metre breaststroke, women's 100 metre breaststroke at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Career A ...

and Emma McKeon.

Personal life

In 2015, Campbell opened up about her struggles with body image. She confessed that pressure from TV and magazine models made her want to be skinny, however it reached the point where she was getting sick. She read a chapter in

Michael Phelps Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold me ...

' book ''Beneath the Surface'', where the line "skinny swimmers aren't good swimmers" stuck out in her head. Her mother encouraged her to see a dietitian, and now believes "the sum of your worth is so much more than what you look like". On Campbell's Twitter profile, she identifies as an atheist. She previously identified as Christian in 2010 and 2011, stating that she needed to rely on

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

for her "strength and love". At the time her family was attending a local

Baptist church Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

in Brisbane. Since 2011, Campbell has been studying a degree in Mass Communication at

Queensland University of Technology Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public research university located in the urban coastal city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. QUT is located on two campuses in the Brisbane area viz. Gardens Point and Kelvin Grove. The univ ...

. She has stated that she wants to pursue a career that combines her interest in the media industry with her love of sport, when she retires. She is a member of the QUT Elite Athlete program. Until December 2016, Campbell lived with her sister Bronte. As of 2017, they are no longer housemates. She subsequently bought a house in

Morningside, Queensland Morningside is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Morningside had a population of 10,481. Geography It is located east of the CBD, and borders Cannon Hill, Norman Park, Seven Hills, Balmoral, and Hawthor ...

. Campbell enjoys hiking, listening to music, newspaper crosswords, and brewing Kombucha. She also owns a kayak. She is a supporter of Nexus Care, a not-for-profit organisation, that aims to improve the lives of those living in poverty in the northern suburbs of Brisbane. In November 2018, Campbell revealed she had been diagnosed with a stage one

melanoma Melanoma, also redundantly known as malignant melanoma, is a type of skin cancer that develops from the pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. Melanomas typically occur in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye ( ...

that developed in a mole she had had her whole life and had to get it removed. She urged her fans to get regular skin checks, stating "an hour out of your day once or twice a year is all it takes". She has since been praised for raising awareness of

skin cancer Skin cancers are cancers that arise from the skin. They are due to the development of abnormal cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. There are three main types of skin cancers: basal-cell skin cancer (BCC) ...

Results in major championships

Personal bests

Notes: WR =

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

, CR = Commonwealth record, OC = Oceanian record, NR = national record

World records

Long course metres

split 52.83 (2nd leg); with Tomaso D'Orsogna (1st leg),

James Magnussen James Magnussen (born 11 April 1991) is a retired Australian swimmer and Olympic medallist. He was the 2011 and 2013 100-metre freestyle world champion, and holds the record for the fifth fastest swim in history in the 100-metre freestyle, wi ...

(3rd leg), Bronte Campbell (4th leg)
split 52.16 (4th leg); with

Bronte Campbell Bronte Campbell (born 14 May 1994) is a Malawian-born Australian competitive swimmer, a dual Olympic gold-medal winner and world champion. Her older sister, Cate, is also a competitive swimmer, and once held world records in both the short an ...

(1st leg),

Melanie Schlanger Melanie Renée Schlanger, Order of Australia, OAM (born 31 August 1986), also known by her married name Melanie Wright, is an Australian freestyle swimming, freestyle swimmer. Melanie first represented Australia at the 2006 Pan Pacific Swimmin ...

(2nd leg),

(3rd leg)
split 51.97 (4th leg); with Emma McKeon (1st leg), Brittany Elmslie (2nd leg), Bronte Campbell (3rd leg)
split 51.00 (4th leg); with Shayna Jack (1st leg), Bronte Campbell (2nd leg), Emma McKeon (3rd leg)
split 52.24 (4th leg); with Bronte Campbell (1st leg),

Meg Harris Meg Harris, (born 7 March 2002) is an Australian swimming (sport), swimmer. She is a List of world records in swimming, world record holder in the World record progression 4 × 100 metres freestyle relay, 4×100 metre freestyle relay. She compet ...

(2nd leg), Emma McKeon (3rd leg)

Short course metres

split 23.63 (4th leg); with Robert Hurley (1st leg),

Christian Sprenger Christian David Sprenger (born 19 December 1985) is an Australian former breaststroke swimmer. He trains at the Commercial Swimming Club under Simon Cusack. Swimming career At the 2008 Australian Swimming Championships he qualified in the 10 ...

(2nd leg), Alicia Coutts (3rd leg)
split 23.23 (4th leg); with Robert Hurley (1st leg), Christian Sprenger (2nd leg), Alicia Coutts (3rd leg)
split 23.28 (4th leg); with Robert Hurley (1st leg), Christian Sprenger (2nd leg), Alicia Coutts (3rd leg)
split 23.50 (4th leg); with Tomaso D'Orsogna (1st leg), Regan Leong (2nd leg),

(3rd leg)
split 23.10 (3rd leg); with Tomaso D'Orsogna (1st leg),

Travis Mahoney Travis Mahoney (born 24 July 1990) is an Australian medley and backstroke swimmer. Winner of two relay medals at the 2012 World Short Course Championships, he is also part of the quartet that broke the world record in the short course mixed 4 ...

(2nd leg), Bronte Campbell (4th leg)

Olympic records

Long course metres

split 53.19 (2nd leg); with Alicia Coutts (1st leg), Brittany Elmslie (3rd leg),

(4th leg)
split 51.80 (4th leg); with

Madison Wilson Madison Maree Wilson, (born 31 May 1994) is an Australian competitive swimmer who has participated in backstroke and freestyle events at the Olympic Games and the FINA world championships. Wilson has been a member of three world record Austr ...

(1st leg ), Brittany Elmslie (2nd leg),

(3rd leg)
split 51.97 (4th leg); with

(1st leg), Brittany Elmslie (2nd leg), Bronte Campbell (3rd leg)
split 52.24 (4th leg); with Bronte Campbell (1st leg),

(2nd leg), Emma McKeon (3rd leg)
split 52.11 (4th leg); with

(1st leg),

(2nd leg), Emma McKeon (3rd leg)

References

Australian Olympic Committee profile
''Sydney Morning Herald'', 2 August 2008

External links

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archive 2
* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Cate 1992 births Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Australian female freestyle swimmers Living people Malawian emigrants to Australia Malawian people of British descent Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Australia Olympic silver medalists for Australia Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Olympic gold medalists in swimming Olympic silver medalists in swimming Olympic bronze medalists in swimming Olympic swimmers of Australia People from Blantyre Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Sportswomen from Queensland Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Olympics World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Swimmers from Brisbane World record holders in swimming Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming Universiade medalists in swimming Australian atheists Former Baptists Queensland University of Technology alumni Universiade gold medalists for Australia Universiade bronze medalists for Australia Medalists at the 2011 Summer Universiade

Early life

Career

2008 Olympics

2009 World Championship

2012 Olympics

2013

2015

2016

2016 Summer Olympics

2017

2018

2021

Personal life

Results in major championships

Personal bests

World records

Long course metres

Short course metres

Olympic records

Long course metres

See also

References

External links