Olympics: Cate Campbell, Michael Phelps, bury the hatchet after ‘sore losers’ quip ahead of Paris

They were the old comments that became the biggest story in US swimming. Now, Aussie legend Cate Campbell has revealed what happened next as the Australia-US rivalry intensifies.

Australian swimming legend Cate Campbell reached out to 28-time Olympic medallist Michael Phelps after they stole the headlines in the lead-up to Paris.

Before the US swim trials last month, an old clip of Campbell resurfaced in which she jokingly accused the Americans of being “sore losers”.

Despite the quip being clearly sarcastic, Phelps was filmed reacting to the comment by suggesting it would give the US swimmers all the motivation they needed to beat the Aussies in Paris.

The issue reared its head again recently when Today Show host Karl Stefanovic labelled Phelps a “tosser” during an interview with Campbell.

According to Aussie swim champion James Magnussen, those comments infuriated members of the Australian swim team heading to Paris.

The Olympic medal record-holder has been at the centre of the American-Australian rivalry. Picture: Odd Andersen/AFP

In an attempt to clear the air, Campbell said on Tuesday that she had spoken with Phelps after the incident and there was no bad blood between them or the two swim teams.

However, she did expect there to be some retribution when she’s on the pool deck in Paris.

“Look, it’s been funny,” Campbell said. “I’ve reached out to Michael personally just to make sure that everything was taken in good humour and he completely agrees.

“He has said that the rivalry between Australia and the USA has helped push the sport forward. We’ve gone toe-to-toe so many times and it’s actually a really good thing.

“So, yeah, it’s surprised me how much it’s kicked off but I’ve made sure that everyone who needs to, knows that it was very much in jest.

“There are always going to be a few people who take things out of context in the wrong way but I can’t really do much about that.

“I know I’m going to have some cow bells rung in my face but much rather ring it in my face than the Australian swim team’s.”

The battle between the Australian and Americans in the pool in Paris is set to be exhilarating. They are two of the most talented teams in recent history.

At the 2023 world championships, Australia won 13 golds to the USA’s seven. It equalled the Dolphins’ best return at the world titles in 2001 and 2005.

Based on the rankings, both countries are on track to win eight gold medals, while China is just behind on seven.

The interest in this year’s Olympic swimming meet is rivalling Gary Hall Junior’s “smash them like guitars” comments before Sydney 2000.

Campbell agreed that although respect was a key theme, getting one over the Americans provided plenty of motivation.

The Aussie swimmers celebrate their 4x100m freestyle title at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

“There is a little bit of a David and Goliath story here in that Australia has 27 million people and we’re coming up against a nation of 350 million,” Campbell said.

“For us to be able to stick it to them as often as we do is something that we should be really proud of.

“As soon as we get out of the pool, everyone’s hugging and congratulating each other.

“But you want to win and there is a little bit of history when it comes to Australia and the USA.”

Paris will be the first Olympics since Athens at which Campbell will not be in the pool.

It’s a bittersweet feeling for the 32-year-old but she’s already looking forward to seeing how the event inspires the next generation.

Having been motivated to take up swimming while watching the Sydney Olympics, she hopes more kids will do so over the next month.

She has partnered with Allianz as an ambassador to address the growing issue of kids dropping out of sport.

Campbell spoke in her role as an Allianz ambassador as the organisation looks to address falling participation rates in sport. Picture: Newswire / Gaye Gerard

“I can remember watching Susie O’Neill win gold in the 200m thinking that could be me one day,” Campbell said.

“But Allianz has done some research and found that a third of kids are giving up sport in their teenage years.

“Some of that’s due to time commitments but some is due to feeling like there’s not enough support.

“I think that the Olympics is one of the most important events when it comes to inspiring people and keeping them engaged and keeping them involved in sport because you can potentially see yourself in someone else’s shoes.

“That’s something really beautiful that children have, they have this incredible imagination.

“If you can keep them engaged while they’re in adolescence, then I think that we have a chance of keeping kids engaged.

“We have a home Olympic Games coming up in 2032, so if they stick it out for eight years with the carrot of the Olympics, that could be you.”