If she hadn’t taken a break, Bronte Campbell is convinced she wouldn’t have made it to the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
The Olympic champion swimmer, who has navigated many injuries throughout her sporting career decided to take an 18-month break after competing in her third Olympic Games at Tokyo 2020.
It was a decision that did wonders for her body and mind.
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“I needed that both physically and mentally,” she tells 9honey, explaining that the “grind of training” and the “load of managing injury” was something that she “needed a break from”.
During her hiatus, she pursued other interests, like surfing.
“If I just kept on pushing through there is absolutely no way I would have been there in Paris. I just would have been completely burnt out and not able to continue,” she explains.
Thankfully she did make it to Paris, despite a last-minute calf injury, and it’s an achievement she’s so proud of.
“When I was a little kid my dream was to go to one Olympics and to stand up on the blocks at my fourth games was bigger and better than I could ever have dreamed,” she explains.
“I never dreamed it would be as big and great as it was.”
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That was all possible because she listened to her body and took the rest she needed, which is something Campbell has become well-trained in after years of managing back and shoulder injuries.
“I’ve been dealing with injury for over half of my career now. My shoulder injury was eight years ago so I’m actually in a place where injuries are the most manageable they’ve ever been,” she explains.
“I’ve spent eight years figuring out how to manage them and I definitely never thought I could continue swimming at my best while injured, but I’ve sort of proven that I can, which is something that I’m incredibly proud of.”
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While she’s gotten the hang of it, it’s definitely not easy. Rehab and recovery, which she says is “a complete essential” adds hours to Campbell’s weekly training routine.
“It takes a lot more energy, it takes a lot more time but it’s completely possible,” she says.
“So it has been something I’ve really learned to embrace and enjoy doing because if I didn’t find some positive things about it, then I probably wouldn’t be doing it.”
Asked how she is able to maintain a positive mindset about her injuries, Campbell has a simple response.
“I do 19,000 swim strokes a week and I’ve been doing that since I was about 10 years old. So rather than asking the question of like, ‘Why do I have a shoulder injury? It’s like why do either of my shoulders operate at all? They’re both doing an exceptional job.”
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Campbell focuses on being grateful for what her body can do for her, trying not to be frustrated by her injuries and embracing the process of managing them. And in a world that makes it so easy to pick apart every inch of our bodies, she’s also determined to buck societal beauty standards.
“I feel very grateful to have a body that works the way it does and it’s got a few little rusty parts that need a bit of work but I’m grateful to have a really healthy body and really celebrate it for the things that it does, not focusing on the way that it looks because that’s probably the least important part of your body, even though it’s the one that we tend to focus on the most.”
For the Olympic gold-medallist, fitness is so much more than the medals or the muscles. It’s about feeling in tune with your body and the community that it inspires and she can’t wait to meet up with members of that community when she attends the FitHer expo in Melbourne on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 October.
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Outside of her swimming career, Campbell has thrown her skills and passion into founding her swim equipment brand PB with Bronte and has more recently co-founded Earthletica– a sustainable activewear company committed to reducing waste and plastics in activewear and she’s looking forward to meeting some her customers in person.
“There’s such a big, beautiful community there which we really want to tap into and see in person – I’ve been overseas for the last two months, so to come home and then I get to go do something like that is going to be really special.”
Campbell says her businesses will be her main focus at the moment.
As to whether or not she will try to make it for a fifth Olympic Games, Campbell says she’s going to listen to her body.
“I’ll just give myself the time and space to come to the decision – I do want to make sure I give it the breathing room that it deserves. So that whenever it is that I retire from swimming, I want that to be final and I’ll close that book and put it away and completely move on to the next thing,” she explains.
“Once I shut it, it’s done. So I want to make sure that I’m ready for that before I go ahead and actually hang up the goggles for good.”
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