Bronte CampbellOAM (born 14 May 1994) is an Australian competitiveswimmer. A four time Olympian, Campbell is a triple Olympic gold medallist and a former World Champion in the 50 and 100 m freestyle, having won both titles in 2015.
Her older sisterCate is also a competitive swimmer, and in 2012, the two became the first Australian siblings on the same Olympic swimming team since 1972. They are the first Australian sisters to ever compete within the same swimming event, also having claimed gold together in the 4 x 100 m freestyle relay in 2016 and 2021.[2][3]
Campbell is the second of five children born to Eric (an accountant) and Jenny (a nurse) Campbell. She has an older sister,Cate, two younger sisters and a younger brother, Jessica, Abigail and Hamish. Hamish has severecerebral palsy and requires around-the-clock care.[4] She shares a birthday with Hamish, with Hamish being four years younger.[5] Jenny used to be a synchronised swimmer and taught her four daughters to swim.[6]
Campbell's family moved fromMalawi to Australia in 2001 and she and Cate joined the Indooroopilly Swimming Club in Brisbane that same year. Their coach at Commercial, Simon Cusack, continues to coach both sisters.
In 2009, Campbell won gold in the 50 metre freestyle at theAustralian Youth Olympic Festival. In 2011, she won gold in the same event at the2011 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships in Lima, Peru.
Campbell competed in thewomen's 50 meter freestyle at the2012 Summer Olympics in London. She and her sister Cate swam in the same heat, finishing second and third and qualifying for the semi-final in ninth and tenth place, respectively.[7]
At the2013 Australian Swimming Championships she won silver in the 50 and 100 metre freestyle events finishing behind sister Cate in both and qualified for the2013 World Aquatics Championships. At the World Championships, she teamed up with Cate,Emma McKeon andAlicia Coutts in the4 × 100 metre freestyle relay where they won the silver medal, finishing 0.12 of a second behind the United States.[8]
Competing at the2014 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) inDoha, she won two silver medals, one in the50 metre freestyle event (timing 23.62) behindRanomi Kromowidjojo, and the other in the4 × 100 metre medley relay behind the Danish team.She finished fourth (timing 51.65) in the finals of the100-metre freestyle event, behindFemke Heemskerk, Ranomi Kromowidjojo andSarah Sjöström.[9]
At the2015 World Championships inKazan, she won three gold medals and one bronze. She finished first in the100 metre freestyle event (in 52.52), beatingSarah Sjöström andCate Campbell,[10] and the50 metre freestyle event (in 24.12), beatingRanomi Kromowidjojo and Sarah Sjöström.
She also won gold in the4×100 metre freestyle relay, beating the Dutch and US teams by a comfortable lead,[11] and a bronze medal in the4 × 100 metre medley relay behind the Chinese and Swedish teams.[12]
At the2016 Summer Olympics, Campbell represented Australia in both the 50 m and 100 m freestyle, as well as the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay (in which they came first and set a new world record).[13] Despite being the reigning world champion in the 50m and 100m freestyle, she did not win a medal in these events, finishing 7th and 4th, respectively, in the finals.
At the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, Campbell won gold in the 4x100m freestyle, silver in the 50m freestyle, gold in the 100m freestyle, and gold in the 4x100m medley relay.[14]
Campbell starred in Head Above Water, a documentary series focusing on 4 Australian swimmers:Ian Thorpe,Kyle Chalmers,Cody Simpson, and Campbell herself.[15] Campbell qualified for her third Olympics in Tokyo. She won gold in the women's 4x100m freestyle relay and bronze in the 4x100m mixed medley relay.[16]
In May 2022, Campbell appeared as a contestant on the sixth season ofThe Celebrity Apprentice Australia.[17]
After an 18 month break from swimming following the Tokyo Games, Campbell returned to the pool under new coach Shannon Rollason in Canberra. In June 2024, she successfully qualified for her 4th Olympic Games in Paris in the Women's 4 x 100m Freestyle relay team, which went on to win gold in Paris. Campbell become only the 5th Australian swimmer to compete at four Olympics.[18]
Campbell has completed her Business Degree at QUTQueensland University of Technology, ,[19] majoring in Public Relations.[20]She has also launched a start-up sustainable activewear business Earthletica, which aims to create high quality activewear that is good for the planet.[21]
She is also a poet, writing poems and reading them out to the swim team before a competition to give them motivation.[22][23]
| Meet | 50 freestyle | 100 freestyle | 4×100 free | 4×200 free | 4×100 medley | 4×100 Mixed free | 4×100 Mixed medley |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OG 2012 | 10th | ||||||
| WC 2013 | 5th | 11th |  | ||||
| CG 2014 |  | |  | | |||
| PP 2014 | | | | ||||
| SCW 2014 | | 4th | | ||||
| WC 2015 | | | | | |||
| OG 2016 | 7th | 4th | | ||||
| WC 2017 | 6th | 7th | | | | ||
| CG 2018 | | | | | |||
| WC 2019 | 8th | | | | |||
| OG 2021 | | | |||||
| OG 2024 | |
| No. | Event | Time | Meet | Location | Date | Status | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4x100 m freestyle relay[a] | 3:30.98 | 2014 Commonwealth Games | Glasgow,Scotland | 24 July 2014 | Former | [24] |
| 2 | 4x100 m freestyle relay (2)[b] | 3:30.65 | 2016 Summer Olympics | Rio de Janeiro,Brazil | 6 August 2016 | Former | [25] |
| 3 | 4x100 m freestyle relay (3)[c] | 3:30.05 | 2018 Commonwealth Games | Gold Coast, Queensland | 5 April 2018 | Former | [26] |
| 4 | 4x100 m freestyle relay (4)[d] | 3:29.69 | 2020 Summer Olympics | Tokyo,Japan | 25 July 2021 | Former | [27] |
a split 53.15 (1st leg); withMelanie Schlanger (2nd leg),Emma McKeon (3rd leg),Cate Campbell (4th leg)
b split 52.15 (3rd leg); with Emma McKeon (1st leg),Brittany Elmslie (2nd leg), Cate Campbell (4th leg)
c split 52.99 (2nd leg); withShayna Jack (1st leg), Emma McKeon (3rd leg), Cate Campbell (4th leg)
d split 53.01 (1st leg); withMeg Harris (2nd leg), Emma McKeon (3rd leg), Cate Campbell (4th leg)
| No. | Event | Time | Meet | Location | Date | Status | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4x50 m mixed freestyle relay[a] | 1:31.13 | h | 2013 FINA World Cup | Tokyo,Japan | 10 November 2013 | Former | [28] |
| 2 | 4x50 m mixed freestyle relay (2)[b] | 1:29.61 | 2013 FINA World Cup | Tokyo,Japan | 10 November 2013 | Former | [28] |
a split 24.03 (3rd leg); withTomaso D'Orsogna (1st leg), Regan Leong (2nd leg),Cate Campbell (4th leg)
b split 23.44 (4th leg); with Tomaso D'Orsogna (1st leg),Travis Mahoney (2nd leg), Cate Campbell (3rd leg)
| No. | Event | Time | Meet | Location | Date | Status | Notes | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4x100 m freestyle relay[a] | 3:32.39 | h | 2016 Summer Olympics | Rio de Janeiro,Brazil | 6 August 2016 | Former | [29] | |
| 2 | 4x100 m freestyle relay[b] | 3:30.65 | 2016 Summer Olympics | Rio de Janeiro,Brazil | 6 August 2016 | Former | FormerWR,OC,NR | [29] | |
| 3 | 4x100 m freestyle relay[c] | 3:29.69 | 2020 Summer Olympics | Tokyo,Japan | 25 July 2021 | Former | FormerWR,OC,NR | [30] |
a split 53.26 (3rd leg); withMadison Wilson (1st leg ),Brittany Elmslie (2nd leg),Cate Campbell (4th leg)
b split 52.15 (3rd leg); withEmma McKeon (1st leg), Brittany Elmslie (2nd leg), Cate Campbell (4th leg)
c split 53.01 (1st leg); withMeg Harris (2nd leg), Emma McKeon (3rd leg), Cate Campbell (4th leg)
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Mixed 4 × 50 metres freestyle relay world record-holder 10 November 2013 – 14 December 2013 With:Regan Leong (10 November to 10 November),Tommaso D'Orsogna,Travis Mahoney,Cate Campbell | Succeeded by |
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