Teenager Mollie O’Callaghan stormed home in spectacular fashion to pip Shayna Jack and Emma McKeon for first place in the women’s 100m freestyle final at the Australian Swimming Championships on Monday evening.
While O’Callaghan’s time of 52.63s was the fastest in the world this year, there was far more intrigue and interest around the 30-year-old swimmer in lane two who finished in equal fifth place.
Cate Campbell is one of Australia’s most decorated Olympians, having burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old prodigy at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Here she was, in front of a few hundred spectators at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre, putting a stake in the ground for her swimming comeback.
Campbell’s time of 53.78s was well outside her personal best (52.03s) but she couldn’t care less.
“To be honest, nothing feels comfortable at the moment,” she said afterwards. “It’s very strange being on pool deck and having no idea what I can do in the water.”
Campbell is aiming to become the first Australian swimmer to compete at a fifth Olympics.
Cate Campbell ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. Credit: Getty
Emily Seebohm and Leisel Jones both went to four Games, but Campbell, if things go to plan, is hoping she is on the plane to Paris next year.
Already a champion of her sport, Campbell came within a whisker of retiring.
At her fourth Olympics in Tokyo, Campbell won a bronze medal in the 100m freestyle and picked up two relay golds.
From there, she left the sport. There was some travel, media work, and a bit of soul-searching.
Cate Campbell dives off the blocks at the Australian Swimming Championships. Credit: Getty
In February last year, she committed to a comeback. In December, as she watched teammates race at the World Shortcourse Championships, Campbell told the Herald: “I only want to do this comeback once”.
Campbell had a grin from ear-to-ear as she chatted after her race to sister Bronte, 28, who is also aiming to once again sneak into the Australian team for Paris.
“I’m well aware this is the first stop of the journey,” Campbell said. “The first step is the hardest bit. I have to remind myself it’s been four months, and I was out of the water for 15 months.
“It was good to be back racing. I knew it would be really tough tonight but I think it’s good to get up and practice racing these girls again. We’re going to be battling it out for a spot to Paris.”
The beauty of these championships, which run until Thursday, is that there is no pressure on swimmers. It is trials in June that will determine who gets a ticket to Fukuoka for the World Aquatics Championships in July.
However, Campbell says she only has eyes for Paris, no matter what happens for the remainder of this year.
“[The Paris Olympics] will be the last time I get in a swimming pool … if I qualify,” Campbell said. “I have this deep sense of knowing that.”
O’Callaghan, the reigning world champion and Commonwealth Games gold medallist, was impressive in a star-studded field.
She mowed down Jack to win by 0.01s, ahead of McKeon in third (53.22s).
Stubblety-Cook finds his groove ahead of main event
A year out from the Tokyo Olympics, breaststroker Zac Stubblety-Cook was the dark horse of the Australian swimming team.
Within a year of claiming a maiden Olympic gold medal in the men’s 200m breaststroke, Stubblety-Cook continued his meteoric rise by breaking a world record in the same event at last year’s Australian Swimming Championships.
Zac Stubblety-Cook competes in the 100m breaststroke on Monday. Credit: Getty
The 24-year-old returns this year as not only a senior member of the Dolphins squad but one of the most dependable figures in the team.
Since becoming the first man to crack the magic 2min 6sec mark in the 200m breaststroke – Stubblety-Cook clocked 2:05.95s – the boy from Brisbane has added world championship and Commonwealth Games glory to his impressive resume.
Fifteen months out from the Paris Olympics, Stubblety-Cook is moving in the right direction to become the first man since Japan’s Kosuke Kitajima in 2004 and 2008 to make it back-to-back gold medals in the 200m breaststroke.
There is a long way to go and it starts this week on the Gold Coast.
Stubblety-Cook is in action on Tuesday in his preferred 200m event and retained his Australian title in the 100m breaststroke on Monday evening.
After qualifying fastest for Monday’s final, Stubblety-Cook turned in sixth place before rocketing home to hit the wall first in 1:00.07s, well outside his personal best of 59.51s.
“I tried to use a bit of length [in my stroke] and that 200 fitness and pace. I would have liked to be a little bit quicker,” Stubblety-Cook said. “This isn’t as important as trials or world champs, so it’s just a stepping stone. Excited to be racing again to be honest.”
Asked if he thought he could give his 200m world record a nudge on Tuesday, Stubblety-Cook said: “I’ll give it all I’ve got this week.”
Stubblety-Cook is the reigning world champion in the 200m breaststroke after posting 2:07.07s at last year’s meeting in Budapest, which was an improvement on his fourth place in 2019.
As far as plaudits go, Stubblety-Cook doesn’t get as many as he should. He’s hardly a household name or someone who gets stopped on the street.
Another who doesn’t generate as many headlines as her freestyle peers is Kaylee McKeown, who is the overwhelming favourite in the 100m backstroke on Tuesday.
Since Ariarne Titmus lost her 400m freestyle world record to Summer McIntosh last month, McKeown (100m and 200m backstroke) and Stubblety-Cook are Australia’s only individual world record holders in able-bodied events.
McKeown’s campaign started well on Monday evening with victory and a personal best of 2:08.16s in the 200m individual medley final.
Meanwhile, Titmus took out the 800m freestyle in 8:20.19 after battling illness. Her 400m freestyle race is on Wednesday.
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