Swimming superstar sisters Cate and Bronte Campbell of Australia are set to move to a new training home less than 2 years out from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Per a report in The Daily Telegraph ($), the speedy Campbell sisters, along with their long-time coach Simon Cusack, are leaving Chandler in Brisbane to a new home at the New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) in Sydney.
A source quoted within The Daily Telegraph stated, “NSWIS are looking to increase their high-performance platform because at the moment they have little to nothing when it comes to swimming. They are hoping to inspire the next generation.”
We reported back in July that New South Wales has been struggling to find its swimming mojo for some time. Just 6% of the Australian roster for this summer’s Pan Pacific Championships stemmed from the state, while the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Center (SOPAC) represents the only High Performance Center in NSW.
In July, Alex Baumann, SwimAustralia’s Chief Strategist, High Performance, and a gold medalist himself, told The Gold Coast Bulletin, “We’ve identified that … there needs to be some intervention in NSW. Queensland is doing very well but how do we ensure that NSW is performing as well? How do we build that sustainability in NSW? The belief is that is NSW is performing well, then the whole nation will perform well in addition to Queensland.”
As such, reeling in the Campbell sisters, along with Cusack, may just be the infusion NSW needs to reboot swimming greatness in the area. An official statement from NSWIS is expected within days.
While Bronte (C2) has been taking a scheduled post-Commonwealth Games break to nurse nagging injuries, sister Cate (C1) blew up the pool in Tokyo at Pan Pacs. taking golds in the 50m and 100m freestyle individual events, while also crushing 50- and 51-point anchors on the gold medal-winning 4 x 100m medley and 4 x 100m free relays.
Would be interesting to see who else would join the new squad.. maybe James Magnussen needs to relocate there in that new squad as well
His current training base (Ravenswood College) is just a couple of kms down the road so it may be plausible but the reality is that Magnussen’s future as an elite competitor is far from certain. He has spent more time in “time out” than serious training in recent years and given his more recent pronouncements; it is far from certain that his mind remains “in the game”.
NSWIS is at SOPAC. NSW is SOPAC-centric. until they fix that, this doesn’t add the real long term numbers they are looking for. northern nsw could use a high class facility. not every qld swimmer comes from chandler, now do they
They’re not training at SOPAC but at northern sydney Pymble I think .. so I think the idea is to grow the Sydney base first then hopefully spread throughout NSW.. but they need to get well credentialed coaches to make swimmers transfer
They will be training at the Knox Grammar pool at Warrawee on the upper north shore (about 20km north of Sydney CBD).
They are going to be sharing between PLC and Knox. Cusack will be the head of NSWIS which means those from remote NSW who are classified as talented, instead of making the shift to QLD in the past, will now have a world-class relocation within NSW and Sydney base. The idea behind it is to take away from the SOPAC draw card.
Was just going off the fact that the primary base for the Knox Pymble club is the Knox Grammar pool but certainly the new facility at PLC (Pymble Ladies College) is very high quality; arguably as good if not better. Will be interesting to know how the deal was made between NSWIS & these 2 leading schools. Both are situated in some of the “priciest” suburbs of Sydney (Pymble is a couple of kms closer to the city centre) but both are very convenient for rail access and on the main highway running north from the city. The latter IS certainly a plus point in comparison to SOPAC.if we are talking about swimmers from areas north of Sydney
The deal was made with Chris Fydler CEO of swimming NSW, as his daughters go to Pymble Ladies College. Enough said.
Massive respect for simon and his squad. But this plan has been done before and doesn’t address the underlying issue with nsw swimming. Good luck to all involved and to the coaches in Sydney’s northern suburbs “ say goodbye to your talented swimmers because their leaving you!
I wish Bronte take a lead and everybody would stop talking about Cate and her struggle for respect. 52.27 was brilliant and unexpected. Cate was faster only two times. I wish her healthy return. At this point I’m rooting more for Bronte than for Cate.
I read a lot about how different the pressure is on swimmers in Australia. But how different is the income? What does C1 take home per year?
So the salty comments and downvoting of positive comments on CC articles begins 🙄
Yes lots of people with agendas.
everybody has agendas for your information lol
Oh dang I was going to make a comment but I’m not an Olympian so I better be quiet.
She never said you have to be quiet. She said be kind. It’s fine to criticize, but not harshly.
1. It’s being a jerk
2. Yes, you are not an Olympian.
he was joking …….with a slight sarcasm ( just love it )
Not to worry, you would struggle to understand even if I try to explain again.
Dear Cate —
I’ve always been a fan of yours. I was rooting for you in 2016 (despite the fact that I’m American). I saw on TV that you were rooting enthusiastically for your teammates. The way you live with, get along with, and stick up for your sister shows good character. I liked the way you later described your own 100 free in Rio as the biggest choke ever. Your stroke is absolutely beautiful to watch. And I was happy to see you do so well at Pan Pacs a few weeks ago.
In your recent statement you made a great point about the nature of choking: “When you see someone choking, it’s not because they don’t care.… Read more »