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

The Australian public could be sleeping on a golden age of swimming, in response 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 informed 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 file of 11 world titles, and fell simply in need of surpassing him on the World Aquatics Championships, which completed this week in Singapore.

McKeown, in the meantime, is Australia’s most profitable particular person Olympic athlete with 5 gold medals to her title, greater than any Australian athlete throughout any sport in historical past.

“I would quite confidently say Kaylee is the best backstroker the world has ever seen,” Campbell stated.

“We are watching one of the greats of sport go better than anyone in Australia has gone before.

“I ponder if Australia realises how fortunate we’re to have the ability to witness these athletes doing what they do.”

Swimmers peaking early, exceeding expectations

Led by O’Callaghan and McKeown, Campbell argues Australia is over-performing on internal expectations.

“This was imagined to be a rebuilding 12 months,” Campbell stated.

“Everyone was setting expectations fairly low, and we’ve got over-delivered in nearly each respect.”

This contains taking out three of 4 freestyle relays on the 2025 World Aquatics Championships.

“We weren’t imagined to win any of the relays, actually … so it is a actually thrilling time to see what this younger staff 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 staff are of their early 20s … and in three years’ time, they’re going to be of 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’ve got ever been to taking that title and that mantle, so it actually appears like Australia is doing one thing proper.”

Australia driving dash ‘innovation’

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.

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Asked if the nation was experiencing a “dash increase”, Campbell argued that “Australia has all the time been on the forefront of dash occasions”.

“Traditionally, swimming could be very distance-based … however our coaches are actually on the forefront of innovation in terms of this sport,” she stated.

“McEvoy has revolutionised the best way individuals take into consideration and prepare for 50 occasions, and we will see that translate throughout not simply freestyle, however the different 50m strokes.”

Meg Harris was another sprint winner, becoming a “shock” 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 complete first.

“Lots of athletes speak about focusing fully on their very own race and never getting caught up with the individuals round them, and it clearly labored for her,” Campbell stated.

“She’s been the bedrock of so many nice Australian relays, so it was nice to see her have her particular person second within the solar.”

‘Unheard of’ progress for Pallister below Boxall

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 exceptional at this stage,” Campbell stated.

“She was pushing Katie Ledecky, the best feminine swimmer of all time, each single stroke of that 800m ultimate.”

A second-place finish also put Pallister ahead of Summer McIntosh, who Campbell named as “arguably one of the best feminine swimmer on the planet proper now”.

“We’ve obtained three years now the place she will be able to proceed to practise these distance occasions within the high-performance setting we all know Boxhall creates so effectively.

“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.”

Titmus ‘weighing up’ subsequent transfer forward of LA

Perhaps Boxhall’s most well-known cost, Ariarne Titmus, sat out the World Championships as she continues a hiatus from the game.

Campbell stated Titmus was “weighing up what to do next”, however remained “incredibly passionate about her sport”.

She added that Titmus clearly had the “mental” power to return, given she was the primary individual to beat Katie Ledecky at an Olympic Games, profitable not one however 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.”