Cate Campbell Travels from Sydney, NSW

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Achievements
Goal Setting
Media
Motivational
Olympian
Resilience
Safety
Sport
Swimming
Team Sport

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The eldest of five Campbell children, Cate was born in Malawi and was taught to swim in Lake Malawi by her mother Jenny – a former synchronised swimmer.

When the family moved to Australia in 2001, nine year-old Cate and her sister Bronte joined the local Swimming Club in Brisbane and fell in love with competitive swimming.

Cate’s dominance in the pool began at a young age, rising through the ranks to win two gold medals as a 13 year-old at the Australian Age Championships.

By the age of 16, she had broken the Australian and Commonwealth 50m Freestyle records and earned selection at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She won Bronze medals in the 50m Freestyle and 4 x 100m Freestyle events.

Cate backed that breakthrough performance up with another Bronze at the 2009 World Championships as she set her sights on the 2012 London Olympics.

London saw Cate become an Olympic champion for the first time as part of Australia’s successful 4 x 100m Freestyle team. Then in 2013, she became a World champion, taking Gold in the 100m Freestyle to go with three Silver medals in the 50m Freestyle, the 4 x 100 Freestyle (with sister Bronte) and the 4 x 100 Medley.

At the 2020 Tokyo Games, Campbell was part of the Women's 4x100m Freestyle Relay which smashed their own world record to secure gold, while also achieving an individual bronze in the 100m freestyle and another gold in the Women's 4x100m Medley Relay to triumph for the team and break the Olympic record. She holds 23 international gold medals, one world record and three commonwealth records.

Cate studied a Bachelor of Communications. After her swimming career, she intends to combine her love for sport and media.

After being diagnosed with stage one Melanoma in a mole she had removed, Cate is very passionate about sun safety and regular check ups. She is an ambassador of Melanoma Institute Australia, playing a major role in their ‘Game on Mole public awareness campaign.

In 2021, Cate joined forces with Bronte to write ‘Sister Secrets: Life Lessons from the Pool to the Podium’. Cate retired from swimming in 2024.