Olympic legend Cate Campbell shares huge personal news after ‘biggest heartbreak’

Eight-time Olympic medallist Cate Campbell has shared some massive news that has sent the swimming world into a spin.

Eight-time Olympic medallist Cate Campbell has announced her engagement to long-time partner Adam Kerr, sharing the dreamy proposal on Instagram.

“A complete and wonderful surprise,” the 33-year-old captioned a carousel of photos showing off her sparkling diamond ring.

Kerr, a geologist and geotechnical engineer, had no idea who Campbell was when they first met five years ago through mutual friends.

“He maintains he never Googled me, he wasn’t star struck!” Campbell toldThe Sydney Morning Herald in 2023.

Campbell shot to fame as a teenager, qualifying for her first Olympics in Beijing at just 16.

She went on to represent Australia at the London 2012, Rio 2016, and Tokyo 2021 Games.

Competing in freestyle sprint events - the 50m and 100m - Campbell became a powerhouse in individual and relay races.

Over her glittering career, she’s collected four Olympic golds, one silver, and three bronze medals, and still holds the short course world record in the women’s 100m freestyle at 50.25 seconds.

Although she officially hung up her goggles in June last year, she’s now diving into a new pool of personal joy.

"Simply the perfect way to start the next chapter of our lives." Picture: Instagram @cate_campbell

“Last Saturday while watching the sun rise at our new local beach, Adam turned and said: ‘Cate, I have a question for you.’

“I thought maybe he was going to ask what kind of plants to put in our gardens, what kind of dog we should get, or what we should make for dinner.

“Instead, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Of course, I said ‘yes’…(and cried a lot).

“Simply the perfect way to start the next chapter of our lives.”

The couple briefly broke up, something Campbell told The Sydney Morning Herald was her “biggest heartbreak” when Campbell and her sister Bronte relocated from Brisbane to Sydney in late 2018, to train under coach Simon Cusack, who had joined the NSW Institute of Sport.

The move was aimed at improving their chances ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Games. But for Cate, things quickly spiralled.

In June that year, after the Tokyo Games were delayed due to the first wave of COVID-19 lockdowns, she hit rock bottom.

Campbell recalled sitting in the dark on her kitchen floor, sobbing uncontrollably after a power outage.

“I was trying to make myself a cup of hot chocolate before I went to bed,” she told Wide World of Sports.

“It was like something switched in my brain,” she said. “I just remember having what I can only call a breakdown.

“I was so distressed, and it was almost like I was watching myself having this reaction ... big sobs and tears and noises.

“I was like: ‘Oh, I’ve never heard myself make those noises’.

“Being unable to cope with the fact that the power had tripped for the second time ... there’s something wrong here. This is not a normal reaction. This is not OK.”

Cate Campbell has announced her retirement after failing to qualify for a fifth Olympics, ending a career in which she set seven world records. Pictures: Getty/AFP

She later opened up to Nine about what the New York Times has dubbed “post-Olympic blues.”

“You can go and have the most incredible time, and then you come back and you feel a bit down or suppressed ... you’re just kind of like wondering about what’s next, because you’ve been so geared towards this one thing for so long,” Campbell explained.

“When you’re preparing for something as big and intense as an Olympics, it takes over your whole life.

“As much as we try and tell our athletes you need balance and you’re more than just the athlete and you’re more than your achievements, it is an all-consuming career choice.

“Your preparation for the 100m freestyle, you’ll prepare two million minutes, and your race will be one minute ... that’s crazy.”

Fellow Aussie swimmer Mollie O’Callaghan broke down in a poolside interview with Campbell while talking about her own struggles post-Paris Games.

Kaylee McKeown also admitted she’d been in a “really dark place.”

Even 28-medal winning legend Michael Phelps has spoken about battling similar emotions.

“You work so hard for four years to get to that point, and then it’s like you’re … at the top of the mountain, you’re like what the hell am I supposed to do? Where am I supposed to go? Who am I?” he told Healthline.

Campbell celebrates on the podium at the medal ceremony for the Women's 100m Freestyle in Tokyo. Picture: Getty

But for Campbell, it was her break-up with Kerr that hit hardest.

When she returned to Brisbane in late 2020, resuming her training ahead of the rescheduled Tokyo 2021 games, the couple reconnected, and have been together ever since.

News of her engagement has been met with a flood of support from the swimming community.

“Congratulations!!! This is so beautiful, so happy for you both,” fellow gold medallist Shayna Jack commented.

Campbell’s Rio teammate Emma McKeon wrote, “Congratulations,” while Tokyo champion Ariarne Titmus added, “The best news.”

As for kids, Campbell told The Sydney Morning Herald she’s still undecided.

“I need to figure out who I am outside of the pool before I go into something as time and identity consuming as parenthood.”

Originally published as Olympic legend Cate Campbell shares huge personal news after ‘biggest heartbreak’