Cate Campbell facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Cate Campbell
OAM

Campbell at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships
Personal information
Born	(1992-05-20) 20 May 1992 (age 33) Blantyre, Malawi
Height	186 centimetres (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	74 kg
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Freestyle
Club	Commercial
Coach	Simon Cusack
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 4 1 3 World Championships (LC) 4 5 3 Pan Pacific Championships 9 0 0 Commonwealth Games 6 2 0 Universiade 1 0 1 Women's swimming Representing  Australia Olympic Games Gold 2012 London 4×100 m freestyle Gold 2016 Rio de Janeiro 4×100 m freestyle Gold 2020 Tokyo 4×100 m freestyle Gold 2020 Tokyo 4×100 m medley Silver 2016 Rio de Janeiro 4×100 m medley Bronze 2008 Beijing 50 m freestyle Bronze 2008 Beijing 4×100 m freestyle Bronze 2020 Tokyo 100 m freestyle World Championships (LC) Gold 2013 Barcelona 100 m freestyle Gold 2015 Kazan 4×100 m freestyle Gold 2019 Gwangju 4×100 m freestyle Gold 2019 Gwangju 4×100 m mixed medley Silver 2013 Barcelona 50 m freestyle Silver 2013 Barcelona 4×100 m freestyle Silver 2013 Barcelona 4×100 m medley Silver 2019 Gwangju 100 m freestyle Silver 2019 Gwangju 4×100 m medley Bronze 2009 Rome 50 m freestyle Bronze 2015 Kazan 100 m freestyle Bronze 2019 Gwangju 50 m freestyle Pan Pacific Championships Gold 2014 Gold Coast 50 m freestyle Gold 2014 Gold Coast 100 m freestyle Gold 2014 Gold Coast 4×100 m freestyle Gold 2014 Gold Coast 4×100 m medley Gold 2018 Tokyo 50 m freestyle Gold 2018 Tokyo 100 m freestyle Gold 2018 Tokyo 4×100 m freestyle Gold 2018 Tokyo 4×100 m medley Gold 2018 Tokyo 4×100 m mixed medley Commonwealth Games Gold 2014 Glasgow 100 m freestyle Gold 2014 Glasgow 4×100 m freestyle Gold 2014 Glasgow 4×100 m medley Gold 2018 Gold Coast 50 m freestyle Gold 2018 Gold Coast 50 m butterfly Gold 2018 Gold Coast 4×100 m freestyle Silver 2014 Glasgow 50 m freestyle Silver 2018 Gold Coast 100 m freestyle Universiade Gold 2011 Shenzhen 4×100 m freestyle Bronze 2011 Shenzhen 50 m freestyle

Cate Natalie Campbell (born May 20, 1992) is an amazing Australian swimmer. She was born in Malawi, Africa. Cate is known for her incredible speed in freestyle races. She used to hold the world record for the 100-meter freestyle in short course swimming.

Cate has won many medals throughout her career, including eight Olympic medals! Four of these are gold medals. She even carried the flag for Australia at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics with basketball player Patty Mills. Many people think Cate is one of Australia's best swimmers ever. She is also famous for being a fantastic relay swimmer, often helping her team win. Her sister, Bronte Campbell, is also an Olympic swimmer, and they have won many races together.

Growing Up: Cate Campbell's Early Life

Cate is the oldest of five children. Her parents, Eric and Jenny, are from South Africa. She has three younger sisters, including Bronte, and one brother, Hamish. Hamish has cerebral palsy, which means he needs special care all the time.

Cate's mom, Jenny, was a swimmer herself and taught her daughters to swim. They even swam in the family pool at home! Cate remembers swimming near hippos in Lake Malawi when she was very young. Her dad, Eric, would sail on this huge lake, which is the second deepest in Africa.

The Campbell children were homeschooled. Their mom often read the Bible to them. They lived in a big house without a TV but had many pets like turkeys, guinea pigs, dogs, cats, and chickens. Cate said every morning felt like an "Easter egg hunt" because the chickens laid eggs all over the house!

Cate says she wasn't good at singing or dancing in school, but swimming was something she was great at. She also got top grades for public speaking. Other than that, she felt she was an "average student."

In 2001, Cate's family moved from Malawi to Australia. Soon after, she started competitive swimming. She finished high school in Brisbane, Queensland.

Cate Campbell's Swimming Journey

Olympic Debut: Beijing 2008

At just 16 years old, Cate was super fast in the 50-meter freestyle. She qualified for the semi-finals with the best time. In the final, she won a bronze medal! She also helped Australia win a bronze medal in the 4 x 100-meter freestyle relay.

World Championships: Rome 2009

Even though she had some hip problems, Cate competed in the 50-meter freestyle. She won another bronze medal, just barely missing the Commonwealth Record.

Overcoming Challenges: London 2012 Olympics

In 2010, Cate and her sister Bronte got sick with glandular fever, which made them very tired. They worked hard to get ready for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Cate was part of the Australian team that won a gold medal in the 4 × 100-meter freestyle relay! Before her individual 50-meter race, she got another health challenge called acute pancreatitis. Despite this, she and Bronte both made it to the semi-finals.

Becoming a World Champion: 2013

At the 2013 Australian Swimming Championships, Cate won gold in both the 50 and 100-meter freestyle races. This meant she could go to the 2013 World Aquatics Championships. There, she and her sister Bronte, along with Emma McKeon and Alicia Coutts, won a silver medal in the 4 × 100-meter freestyle relay. A few days later, Cate won her first individual world title in the 100-meter freestyle!

More Gold Medals: 2015 World Championships

Cate Campbell (left) and her sister Bronte celebrating their medals at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships.

At the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, Cate won another gold medal with her team in the 4 × 100-meter freestyle relay. In the 100-meter freestyle, she won a bronze medal, finishing behind her sister Bronte and Sarah Sjöström. Later that year, she broke the short course 100-meter freestyle world record, becoming the first woman to swim under 51 seconds!

Breaking Records: 2016

Cate continued to shine in 2016. She won the 100-meter freestyle at the Australian Championships, qualifying for the 2016 Summer Olympics. She also set a new Australian record in the 50-meter freestyle. At a Grand Prix meet, she broke the long course 100-meter freestyle world record with a time of 52.06 seconds. This was just 0.01 seconds faster than the previous record!

Rio 2016 Olympic Games

At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Cate won a gold medal with the Australian women's 4 × 100-meter freestyle team, which included her sister Bronte. They even set a new world record! She also won a silver medal in the 4 × 100-meter medley relay. In the 100-meter freestyle final, Cate was a favorite, but she finished 6th. She also finished 5th in the 50-meter freestyle final.

Taking a Break: 2017

After the Rio Olympics, Cate took a break from competitive swimming in 2017. She wanted to recover and do "normal things" that other people her age do. It was her first real break from training since she was 9 years old. When she returned, she broke the 100-meter freestyle world record again in short course swimming!

Commonwealth Games Success: 2018

Cate came back strong for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. She won gold and helped break the world record in the women's 4 × 100-meter freestyle relay with her sister Bronte, Emma McKeon, and Shayna Jack. She also won gold in the women's 50-meter freestyle, setting a new Commonwealth record. Surprisingly, she also won gold in the women's 50-meter butterfly, even though she hadn't competed in that stroke before! She said she wanted to "shake things up" and try something new. She won a silver medal in the 100-meter freestyle, finishing just behind her sister Bronte.

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

Cate qualified for her fourth Olympics, the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which was held in 2021. This made her only the third Australian swimmer to compete in four Olympics. She was also chosen as one of Australia's flagbearers for the Opening Ceremony.

With Emma McKeon, Meg Harris, and her sister Bronte, Cate won gold in the women's 4 × 100-meter freestyle relay. This was her third gold medal in this event! She then won a bronze medal in the 100-meter freestyle. Later, she and the Australian team won another gold medal in the women's medley relay.

Retirement: 2024

After the Tokyo Olympics, Cate took an 18-month break. She then tried to qualify for her fifth and final Olympics in 2024, hoping to be the first Australian swimmer to do so. However, she didn't make it to the finals in her races. After her last race, she was hugged by her sister Bronte and other swimmers. She received a standing ovation and announced her retirement, saying an emotional goodbye to the crowd. Other swimmers praised her for being a role model and setting high standards in swimming.

Cate Campbell's Life Outside the Pool

In 2015, Cate talked about her struggles with body image. She felt pressure to be skinny but realized it was making her sick. She read a book by swimmer Michael Phelps that said "skinny swimmers aren't good swimmers." Her mom encouraged her to see a dietitian, and Cate now believes that "the sum of your worth is so much more than what you look like."

Cate has studied Mass Communication at Queensland University of Technology. She wants to work in media and sports after she retires from swimming. She used to live with her sister Bronte but now has her own house.

Cate enjoys hiking, listening to music, doing newspaper crosswords, and making Kombucha. She also has a kayak. She supports Nexus Care, a group that helps people living in poverty in Brisbane.

In 2018, Cate shared that she had been diagnosed with a type of skin cancer called melanoma. She had a mole removed and urged her fans to get regular skin checks. She has been praised for raising awareness about skin cancer.

Images for kids

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  Campbell at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships

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  Cate Campbell (left) and her sister Bronte celebrating their medals at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships.

See also

In Spanish: Cate Campbell para niños

• List of Olympic medalists in swimming (women)
• List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming (women)
• List of Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming (women)
• World record progression 100 metres freestyle
• World record progression 4 × 100 metres freestyle relay