‘Did that just happen?’: Campbell sisters weigh up next steps after Tokyo highs

Life in quarantine hasn’t exactly cleared up the future for Bronte and Cate Campbell. If anything, two weeks to think it over has only delayed the biggest calls of the sisters’ careers as they weigh up life out of the water post-Tokyo.

Cate, 29, and Bronte, 27, have been a mainstay of the Australian team for so long that training and racing not only devoured their teenage years but most of their adult lives. They both know things have to change, the dilemma is how much of a shift - and how permanent - it will become.

Cate and Bronte Campbell in Tokyo.Credit: Delly Carr

Bronte spent time at Howard Springs pottering around, quite literally. In her spare time between university and occasionally penning poetry, she works with clay to create pots, bowls and cups.

Cate quarantined in Brisbane, fulfilling media commitments and musing on social media about Paris in 2024. A bronze medal in the 100m freestyle suggests she is still among the best in the world but she can feel a new generation rising, among them Tokyo teammates like Mollie O’Callaghan.

Two weeks in isolation added a strange tinge of the surreal to what happened in Tokyo for Australia’s aquatic athletes. A few weeks ago, they were on a team that became the toast of Australian sport. Then it all went quiet as they returned home to serve spells in quarantine.

“I don’t really think I’ve fully come to terms with it, or really processed it. I really want to do that with my friends and family. I think that when I get out and see them and am able to celebrate with them, then things will start to become more real. In some ways, I’ve been like ‘did that just happen?’” Cate said.

“Life is just so bizarre, especially just sitting in a hotel room for 14 days. Once I cross that threshold into the outside world, things will become more real.”

Both sisters are on the roster for the International Swimming League finals, to be held in November. They will keep training but neither has any intention of diving back into a heavy workload. Bronte, especially, made it clear Tokyo will likely be her last Olympics, although she may swim on longer in other formats in the short term.

“I don’t know. I still really enjoy swimming but like Cate, I just want to have a look around. I’ve just been doing this for so long, doing the same thing for my whole adult life,” Bronte said.

“It’s time to explore outside the pool. That doesn’t mean I won’t be swimming, it just means I am ready for swimming to fit around the other things I’m doing, whatever that looks like.”

Cate took a break from the pool after Rio as she sought to come to terms with the disappointment of her swims in her individual races. Now she will step back to survey the real world and make sure that if she goes back, it’s with a clear head and defined motivations.

“I don’t have specifics yet but I know I have a lot of offers, there are so many people who are willing to help me,” Cate said. “I want to really explore that fully so when I decide about my swimming career, I can make a really informed decision.

“And if I go back, it is out of love for the sport and not out of fear that I can’t do anything else.”

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