Cate Campbell says Mollie O'Callaghan, Kaylee McKeown and other stars have Australian swimming in its golden age

Australia Broadcast Center

17 hours ago

The Australian public might be sleeping on a golden age of swimming, according to four-time Olympic champion Cate Campbell.
"Australians get really caught up talking about the golden age of swimming as if it happened 10-20 years ago, including names like Ian Thorpe, Grand Hackett and Susie O'Neill," she told ABC Sport Daily.
"But I would say [the golden age] is happening right now. We have athletes who are equalling or bettering the statistics and records of those legends, and doing so at such a young age."
Campbell singled out the performances of Mollie O'Callaghan, 21, and Kaylee McKeown, 24.
Freestyle champion O'Callaghan had already equalled Ian Thorpe's record of 11 world titles, and fell just short of surpassing him at the World Aquatics Championships, which finished this week in Singapore.
McKeown, meanwhile, is Australia's most successful individual Olympic athlete with five gold medals to her name, more than any Australian athlete across any sport in history.
"I would quite confidently say Kaylee is the best backstroker the world has ever seen," Campbell said.
"We are watching one of the greats of sport go better than anyone in Australia has gone before.
"I wonder if Australia realises how lucky we are to be able to witness these athletes doing what they do."
Led by O'Callaghan and McKeown, Campbell argues Australia is over-performing on internal expectations.
"This was supposed to be a rebuilding year," Campbell said.
"Everyone was setting expectations quite low, and we have over-delivered in just about every respect."
This includes taking out three of four freestyle relays at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships.
"We weren't supposed to win any of the relays, really … so this is a really exciting time to see what this young team can do."
Campbell argues this puts Australia in an enviable position ahead of the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028, given most swimmers do not 'peak' until their mid-20s.
"The majority of our team are in their early 20s … and in three years' time, they'll be in their mid 20s for Los Angeles."
This would continue an upward trend for Australia that compares favourably to long-time rivals in the USA.
In Paris, Australia won just one less gold medal than the USA, while the Americans had their worst-performing Olympic Games in the pool.
"That's the closest we have ever been to taking that title and that mantle, so it really feels like Australia is doing something right."
Contributing to Australia's progress on the international stage is a flurry of sprint wins, including Cam McEvoy's 50m victory in Singapore, which made him the oldest male to win an individual gold medal at the World Championships.
Asked if the nation was experiencing a "sprint boom", Campbell argued that "Australia has always been at the forefront of sprint events".
"Traditionally, swimming can be very distance-based … but our coaches are really at the forefront of innovation when it comes to this sport," she said.
"McEvoy has revolutionised the way people think about and train for 50 events, and we're going to see that translate across not just freestyle, but the other 50m strokes."
Meg Harris was another sprint winner, becoming a "surprise" 50m freestyle world champion.
Harris, who is legally deaf, swam the race with her eyes closed and was unaware of where she was in the pool, saying she was "shocked" to finish first.
"Lots of athletes talk about focusing completely on their own race and not getting caught up with the people around them, and it clearly worked for her," Campbell said.
"She's been the bedrock of so many great Australian relays, so it was great to see her have her individual moment in the sun."
The coaching prowess of Dean Boxall was also on display during the World Championships, with Lani Pallister almost pulling off the upset of the tournament against all-time great Katie Ledecky in the 800m freestyle final.
Pallister finished three tenths of a second behind Ledecky, and in just four months of training with Boxall, has shaved seven seconds off her personal best.
"That is unheard of at this level," Campbell said.
"She was pushing Katie Ledecky, the greatest female swimmer of all time, every single stroke of that 800m final."
A second-place finish also put Pallister ahead of Summer McIntosh, who Campbell named as "arguably the best female swimmer in the world right now".
"We've got three years now where she can continue to practise those distance events in the high-performance environment we know Boxhall creates so well.
"If I was Katie, or if I was Summer, I'd be getting back into training as soon as possible, because you know Lani is really going to come for you."
Perhaps Boxhall's most famous charge, Ariarne Titmus, sat out the World Championships as she continues a hiatus from the sport.
Campbell said Titmus was "weighing up what to do next", but remained "incredibly passionate about her sport".
She added that Titmus clearly had the "mental" strength to return, given she was the first person to beat Katie Ledecky at an Olympic Games, winning not one but two Olympic 400m golds.
"I think she's enjoying her time off, and she absolutely should… three years [ahead of LA] is plenty of time to get back to her best, if that's what she wants."