Cate Campbell seeks ‘automaticity’ in the pool in quest for perfect golden race in Rio Olympic Games

CATE Campbell’s coach has tried to turn her into a swimming “robot” but from now until the Olympic Games she’s being treated as fragile as a China doll.

Cate Campbell stretches prior to her first training session at the University of Auburn Aquatic Centre in Alabama. Photo by Delly Carr.

CATE Campbell’s coach has tried to turn her into a swimming “robot” but from now until the Rio Olympic Games she’s being treated as fragile as a China doll.

After two Olympic Games campaigns that “ended well in Beijing and started well in London” Campbell is desperately hoping Rio will be “third time lucky” with a complete week of performance after pancreatitis crippled her midway through the Games four years ago.

Which is why right now — just a week out from the Games starting — she’s got her right wrist strapped. Mainly it’s because of a painful ganglion, but also it’s protection from herself.

“It’s just a precaution in case I want to start sleeping like this again,” Campbell said, while gesturing with her wrist heavily bent.

“Everything is about precaution and making sure I’m fighting fit form in a couple of weeks’ time.”

Getting Campbell fit onto the starting blocks is crucial given she is overwhelming favourite for gold in the 50m and 100m freestyle — the event she set a new world record in Brisbane earlier this month.

Campbell’s rise to world record holder has been built on coach Simon Cusack’s quest for “automaticity”, which as Cate explains, is all about taking the mind out of her racing.

“It’s more about training to do something so when it comes to the big race, you can switch off your mind which is by far the most powerful tool in your body and just let your muscle memory do all the work,” she said.

Campbell’s coach Simon Cusak wants his charges to be swimming ‘robots’.

“It’s almost like programming, he is trying to make us as robotic as possible.

“But that is the thing about the Olympic Games, you’re not racing robots you’re racing human beings and that is what makes it so interesting.”

Which is why despite being a world record holder with half a second advantage over her nearest rival, Campbell insists she remains the “underdog”.

She will race quality rivals in Rio and knows being slightly off her game could be the difference between gold and nothing.

“When you say I’m the hunted I’ve got a dual world champion (younger sister Bronte) training with me every day, sleeping in the bed right next to me every night,” Campbell said.

“In the race in Rio there is going to be a dual Olympic gold medallist (Ranomi Kromowidjojo), there’s probably also going to be a world record holder in the 100 butterfly (Sarah Sjostrom), who is the hunted?

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“Everyone is the hunted so I think you can never take anything for granted and the great thing about the Olympic Games and why we love it so much is anything can happen.

“Crazy things happen so you never want to take your eye off the ball and as far as I’m concerned I’m the underdog and that is the way I approach every race and that’s the way you give 100 per cent because you’ll leave nothing in the tank because there is always someone out there who wants it more than you.”

And when it comes to the gold medal, it’s not that Campbell doesn’t want it badly, she just wants to replicate that perfect world record swim because that is all she can physically control. The rest is up to fate.

“I’m all about executing a good race and that (world record swim) was an excellent race I executed and if I can replicate that over in Rio I think I can be proud of that no matter the result,” she said.

Originally published as Cate Campbell seeks ‘automaticity’ in the pool in quest for perfect golden race in Rio Olympic Games