Bronte Campbell to take time out of swimming after Commonwealth Games to allow body to heal
BRONTE Campbell will take a break from swimming after the Commonwealth Games in a move she hopes will rejuvenate her career.
Swimming
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BRONTE Campbell will take a break from swimming after the Commonwealth Games in a move she hopes will rejuvenate her career in the same way older sister Cate has benefited from time away from the pool.
While Cate’s post-Olympic hiatus was more of a mental break from the sport, Bronte - the 2015 world champion in the 50m and 100m freestyle - will take three months off training and miss August’s Pac Pacific championships to rehabilitate her troublesome shoulders.
The Brisbane-based sisters will be among 20 Olympians and Paralympians in action at the NSW state championships at Homebush over the next three days in the final hitout for Australia’s elite swimmers ahead of next month’s Commonwealth Games trials.
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And while Bronte said the shoulder issues that plagued her past two major campaigns - at the Rio Olympics and Budapest world championships - would not halt her Commonwealth Games campaign, the best longterm solution is rest.
“It’s been about two years now that I’ve been managing it, so after Commonwealth Games, I’m going to have a few months off, maybe up to three months off and just do rehab,” she said.
“Surgery isn’t really an option, there’s nothing hugely structurally wrong that surgery will absolutely fix, it’s more of a risk than anything else.
“So I’m definitely not looking at surgery but looking at some intensive rehab without the load of swimming to get everything back to a normal baseline.”
That will mean missing the Pan Pacs, one of the few meets at which Australian swimmers face athletes from the US outside of Olympic and world championship competition.
“It was a really tough decision and not something I took lightly but it got to a stage where it was pretty much the only decision left to make,” she said.
“I’m really excited about it now.”
Bronte didn’t have to look far from home for inspiration on returning from a break though, with Cate proving time out of the water is far from career-ending.
“Seeing Cate take a break and then come back with renewed vigour is very encouraging,” she said of her sister who returned from a post-Rio layoff to break the world 100m shortcourse record late last year.
“It’s exciting to see someone step away and then be able to come back.
“It’s a fear that lots of swimmers have that if you stop doing what you’re doing, you’re never going to get back again, so it’s encouraging to see her do that.”
Cate and Bronte will be in action in the heats and finals of the 100m freestyle on Friday where they will take on a classy field including fellow Rio relay gold medallists Emma McKeon and Brittany Elmslie and squadmate Shayna Jack.
“This will be our last hitout before trials, so it’s our last chance to get some good race practice in and practice those skills that we’ve been working on, so there should be some really good, solid racing down here,” said Cate, who will also line up in the 50m and 200m freestyle and 50m butterfly.
“Australia has probably more girls in the top 10 in the world in the 100m freestyle than any other country, so it’s always tough racing these girls.
“We’ve been doing it for a long time now and I think that we all get the best out of each other. I know that I’m a better swimmer because they push me and I’m sure that they would say the same thing.”
Sydney’s two-time world champion James Magnussen will take on Cameron McEvoy and James Roberts in the men’s 100m freestyle in tonight’s other feature final.