She is ‘s golden girl of swimming.
But after crashing out of qualifying for the Paris Olympics, gold medal great Cate Campbell has to adjust to life out of the pool.
That includes watching sister Bronte Campbell compete, following her own retirement earlier this year.
Now a commentator for Channel Nine’s Games coverage, the 32-year-old has opened about her experience as a ‘spectator’.
‘I feel exhausted [spectating], because when you’re competing and so focused on your own performance, you don’t have time or energy to spend on other people and their experiences and their performance,’ Cate said during an appearance on the latest episode of the Something to Talk About podcast.
‘Now that I have those blinkers removed, I’m free to fully embody all of the emotion that I’m seeing being played out in the pool,’ the eight-time Olympic medal winner explained.
She added: ‘I feel like I’m just on an emotional rollercoaster every day…It is a little bit bittersweet to be on this side but I am enjoying immensely.’
Elsewhere in the chat, Cate said that now she is a ‘spectator’ she understand why n’s ‘fall in love’ with the athletes that compete for their country.
‘s golden girl of swimming and Channel Nine commentator Cate Campbell (pictured) has opened up about life after retirement
She also paid tribute to the Aussie team, especially the female athletes: ‘Most of our of gold [medals] are coming from the girls,’ she gushed.
Meanwhile, Cate has proved to be a winner in her new role as a commentator.
She recently left host Karl Stefanovic in stitches on live television after she cracked a joke about a stunning gender detail from the Paris Olympics.
Speaking on Channel Nine after Dolphins quartet Mollie O’Callaghan, Lani Pallister, Brianna Throssell and Ariarne Titmus combined to win the 4x200m freestyle relay, Campbell pointed out a remarkable statistic – all of ‘s gold medal winners at the Games so far have been women.
Cate has been watching her sister Bronte Campbell (pictured) compete she crashed out of qualifying for the Paris at the trials only weeks ago
‘There is a theme when it comes to the n Olympic team at the moment,’ she said.
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‘Apparently at the moment if you want to win an Olympic gold medal you have to have a uterus.’
Stefanovic burst out laughing at Campbell’s cheeky one-liner – but she wasn’t finished.
‘Cam McEvoy, he will swim in the 50m freestyle final,’ she said.
‘He is hoping to break that theme… but he doesn’t have the right anatomy at the moment.’
Campbell then repeated the gender gold medal gag in a later interview with Ben Fordham on 2GB Radio – and declared the girls are ‘delivering in spades, they are on fire in the pool’.
It comes after has officially announced her immediate retirement from elite swimming late in June after crashing out at the national trials in Brisbane in her bid to compete at a record fifth Olympics.
‘From little things, big dreams grow,’ Campbell posted on Instagram.
Cate enjoyed a highly successful career with her goggles on, picking up her first Olympic bronze medals in her debut games in Beijing back in 2008 as a 16-year-old
Meanwhile, Cate has proved to be a winner in her new role as a commentator
‘After over 20 years, over 35,000km, over 19,000,000 strokes, four Olympics, eight Olympic medals, seven World Records and countless memories it’s time to officially say goodbye to the dream I have had since I was 9-years-old.
‘As of today, I am officially retired from elite sport.
‘I have had some time over the past week to reflect on my career, and while there are many conflicting emotions, especially because it did not end exactly how I had hoped, I am still able to look back without regret.
‘I gave the pursuit of a fifth Olympics everything I had, and therefore, even in failure, there is a small, indelible kernel of pride.’
Cate enjoyed a highly successful career with her goggles on, picking up her first Olympic bronze medals in her debut games in Beijing back in 2008 as a 16-year-old.
Over the next three Games, she graced the dais frequently, snaring four gold medals and a silver.