Cate on front foot after Rio disappointment
CATE Campbell has revealed she was stuck in a torturous limbo after the Rio Olympics, not wanting to quit the sport but knowing she could not continue if she allowed swimming to consume her life as it had before her Rio meltdown.
On the eve of a showdown against US Olympic and world champion Simone Manuel, Campbell opened up about the changes that have allowed her to relieve the pressure heading into major meets and how a strong performance at this week’s Pan Pacs in Tokyo would be a major confidence boost ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games.
Campbell’s coach Simon Cusack recently revealed he feared his star sprinter would not return after Rio, where she entered the 100m a heavy favourite and faded to finish sixth.
Campbell, who described her Rio performance as “possibly the greatest choke in Olympic history” said she was torn about her future in the sport following the Games.
“I was stuck in this place where I didn’t want to give up but I also didn’t want to go back to the way things were,” she said.
“So it was that process of how can I change things enough to allow me to continue to do the sport that I love and I feel that I have more to give to, without it consuming my whole life or feeling like I’ll resent it by the time I finish.”
Failing on the biggest stage in world sport though turned out to be the thing that allowed Campbell to move forward without pressure.
“In a way it is liberating to hit rock bottom because those fears are taken away.”
Changing the focus of her training has brought Campbell into her showdown with Manuel feeling fresh.