Cate Campbell engaged: Olympic champion’s surprise Sunshine Coast proposal

Champion swimmer Cate Campbell’s surprise beach proposal was a beautiful moment. But what came next really blew her away.

Olympic legend Cate Campbell and her fiancee Adam Kerr

She’s already bagged Olympic gold, silver and bronze and now champion swimmer Cate Campbell can add diamonds to her collection.

The beloved four-time Olympic gold medallist, 33, announced her engagement this week to Adam Kerr, 33, after six years together.

What started as a quiet moment to celebrate their recent move to the Sunshine Coast turned quickly into an unforgettable proposal.

“I said let’s just take this moment, it’s our first weekend in our new home so let’s go down to the beach and soak it all in,” said Campbell, who retired from competitive swimming in June last year.

“He just turned to me and said, ‘I’ve got a question to ask you’, then got down on one knee and pulled out a ring and said, ‘will you marry me?’”

Kerr proposed on July 12 at sunrise at Dicky Beach on the Sunshine Coast, the couple’s new home after recently moving from Brisbane. Campbell said it was a total shock.

“When he shifted position and reached behind him (for the ring), I was like, ‘oh my gosh, is this what I think it is?’ But also, we haven’t discussed doing this at all,” Campbell said.

“We’ve been together for six years so it didn’t come as a surprise that Adam wanted to marry me, but the moment of the proposal was a surprise. I’m really, really excited that it was a surprise. It feels like the perfect way to open a new chapter and explore what that looks like together.”

Olympic legend Cate Campbell and her fiancee Adam Kerr

Kerr, a geologist and current FIFO geotechnical engineer, spent months planning the proposal and chose the ring which has a platinum band and three diamonds.

What came next made it even more special for Campbell after she received heartfelt well wishes from her lifelong idol.

“Dawn Fraser gave me a call to say congratulations and I just thought that was the most beautiful thing and apart from the proposal, that was the most surprising thing,” she said.

“It was really special, I felt like I was getting congratulated by Australian royalty.”

Campbell and Kerr met on Tinder in 2017 but with Campbell’s hectic swimming schedule, they remained friends and officially started dating a year later in 2018.

Olympic legend Cate Campbell and her fiancee Adam Kerr

Olympic legend Cate Campbell and her fiancee Adam Kerr

“When we met he didn’t know who I was and there’s something really beautiful about the fact he’s got to know me just for me and who I am and not for my swimming career,” she said. “It was a very grounding influence to have someone who sits outside of the sport bubble.”

Campbell shares in the milestone with her sister and fellow swimming champion, Bronte Campbell, who got engaged last year to her long-term boyfriend Benfield Lainchbury.

With both sisters now preparing for weddings, Campbell joked about the idea of combining celebrations.

“Our relationship has survived a lot but I don’t think it would survive a double wedding,” she joked.

Campbell hasn’t made any plans yet but would like her wedding to be on the Sunshine Coast either next year or 2027.

For now though she’s busy with life post retirement as a commentator for Channel 9 and athlete mentor for junior national swimmers.

Originally published as Cate Campbell engaged: Olympic champion’s surprise Sunshine Coast proposal