Cate may take five ahead of Olympics
CATE Campbell’s coach Simon Cusack has hinted the champion sprinter could take another break from the pool ahead of the 2020 Olympics.
Campbell took a lengthy sabbatical after her Rio disappointment but it has proved such a tonic for her that Cusack believes another break may be the best course ahead of a fourth Olympic campaign.
The 26-year-old will spearhead Australia’s charge at the Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo next month, where she will line up against American Simone Manuel and Canada’s Penny Oleksiak, the pair who dead-heated for Olympic 100m gold in Rio.
Campbell has been tearing up the pool since her return, breaking the world record for the shortcourse 100m freestyle last October, before winning three gold at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in April.
While she lost the blue riband 100m to younger sister Bronte – who is taking her own break from the sport to repair her battered body ahead of the Tokyo Olympics – Australian head coach Jacco Verhaeren does not believe it will be a weight on her shoulders heading into Pan Pacs.
“I think there’s always pressure, I think it’s unchanged,” Verhaeren said.
“Cate will never swim a 100m without pressure. It won’t happen and she knows that. Cate has had instances where it didn’t work out for her but in this instance (at the Commonwealth Games), she was beaten by somebody who swam a very good time.”
Campbell has been working overtime at the Australian team’s camp in Cairns and was the lone swimmer in the pool on Wednesday night as she completed a maximum effort 100m in her competition suit in front of just a few amazed bystanders.